Analysis of chemoresistance characteristics and prognostic relevance of postoperative gemcitabine adjuvant chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Abstract Aim To investigate the relationship between chemoresistance in pancreatic cancer patients receiving postoperative gemcitabine adjuvant therapy and specific clinical/pathological characteristics, as well as its impact on patient prognosis. Methods From June 2018 to June 2021, clinical and pathological data of 148 pancreatic cancer patients were collected, and 101 patients were followed up for tumor recurrence/metastasis and survival status. The correlation between chemoresistance and specific clinical/pathological characteristics or patient prognosis was retrospectively analyzed. Results Of the 148 patients, 78 were in the chemoresistance group and 70 in the non‐chemoresistance group. Univariate analysis showed that the development of chemoresistance may be related to patient age, combined diabetes, preoperative CA19‐9 level, tumor size, AJCC stage, vascular invasion, and positive lymph node ratio. Furthermore, subsequent multivariate analysis incorporating these variables indicated that tumor size may be a key factor influencing chemoresistance (p 3 cm). Conclusions Patients with pancreatic cancer receiving postoperative gemcitabine adjuvant therapy are more likely to develop chemoresistance when their tumor sizes are larger (diameter >3 cm). Development of chemoresistance exacerbates the prognosis of patients with pancreatic cancer, and larger tumor size is also a risk factor for poor prognosis in these patients.

Keywords

• chemoresistance
• gemcitabine
• pancreatic cancer
• prognosis
• tumor size