Pancreatectomy Using the No-Touch Isolation Technique Followed by Extensive Intraoperative Peritoneal Lavage to Prevent Cancer Cell Dissemination: A Pilot Study

CONTEXT: In pancreatic cancer, even for patients who have undergone curative resection (R0), survival analysis has revealed a poor survival rate due to cancer recurrence. Because the operation itself might have caused the dissemination of these cancer cells, the no-touch isolation technique and extensive intraoperative peritoneal lavage may be a potential operative procedure for improving the outcome. PATIENTS: Eight patients treated by the no-touch isolation technique were compared with 10 patients treated using conventional techniques. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cancer cell detection rates in the portal venous blood, frequency of recurrence, and survival rate. We also analyzed the lymphatic fluid squeezed from the resected cancerous pancreatic tissue. RESULTS: In 5 out of 10 cases (50%) in the conventional procedure group, CEA mRNA was identified in the portal blood after tumor manipulation, while only 1 out of 8 cases (13%) in the no-touch isolation technique group was positive for portal CEA mRNA. All lymphatic fluid samples squeezed from the resected cancerous pancreatic tissue were positive (8/8) for CEA mRNA. The recurrence rate was 90% (9/10) in the conventional procedure group, and 38% (3/8) in the no-touch isolation technique group (P=0.043). In the conventional procedure group, hepatic metastasis, local recurrence, peritoneal dissemination, and extraabdominal recurrence were identified in 6 (60%), 4 (40%), 4 (40%), and 2 patients (20%), respectively. On the other hand, among the no-touch isolation technique group, recurrence was identified in 1 (13%), 1 (13%), 0 (0%), and 1 patient (13%), respectively. There was no peritoneal dissemination along with the decreased hepatic recurrence rate. Mean (+/-SEM) survival time was 21.2+/-5.8 months for the conventional procedure group and 41.5+/-5.6 months for the no-touch isolation technique group (P=0.018). The 3-year survival rate was 12.5+/-11.5% for the conventional procedure group and 75.0+/-21.7% for the no-touch isolation technique group. CONCLUSION: This study presented the potential of cancer dissemination during the intraoperative manipulation of tumors and its contribution to cancer recurrence, as well as the significance of the no-touch isolation technique and extensive intraoperative peritoneal lavage for pancreatic cancer surgery.