The Benefits of a "Complete Response"
For many cancer sites, the use of neoadjuvant radiation and/or chemotherapy is becoming a standard strategy. One of the greatest benefits is the opportunity to achieve a complete clinical or pathological response prior to surgical resection.
In the management of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, achieving a pathologic complete response was associated with a twofold higher 5-year overall survival rate among patients with localized pancreatic adenocarcinoma who underwent preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) and resection. Several factors, including treatment type and tumor features, influenced the outcomes.
In a current analysis, researchers investigated the incidence and factors associated with pathologic complete response after preoperative CRT among 1,758 patients (mean age, 64 years; 50% men) with localized pancreatic adenocarcinoma who underwent resection after two or more cycles of chemotherapy (with or without radiotherapy). Pathologic complete response was defined as the absence of vital tumor cells in the patient's sampled pancreas specimen after resection.
These findings again show the benefit of complete data in patient abstracts that reflect the use of neoadjuvant treatment. The combination of data from multiple institutions is also important.
