LAUSR

PURPOSE Survival appears to be poor in cases of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) with para-aortic lymph node involvement (PALN+). However, resection is still performed in these cases because the prognostic impact of PALN+remains controversial. METHODS PALN+was intraoperatively found in 14 patients (4.8%) with resectable PDAC who consequently did not undergo pancreatectomy. RESULTS The median overall survival time after laparotomy was 21 months. The 1- and 3-year overall survival rates were 58.3% and 25%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS We support the advisability of reconsidering pancreatectomy in patients with intraoperatively detected PALN+because the reported survival of such patients who undergo pancreatectomy is poorer than the survival observed for patients in our series.