Carcinoma of the pancreas: a clinicopathologic study of 96 cases with immunohistochemical observations.

We carried out clinicopathological and immunohistochemical studies on tissues from 96 patients with pancreatic carcinoma, excluding cystic neoplasms (cystadenocarcinomas). The cumulative three-year survival rate was 8.8%, and 58 patients (60.4%) died within one year of the initial surgery. The survival curves for patients with pancreatic carcinoma with no venous invasion and no lymph node metastasis were significantly more favorable than for those with venous invasion and/or lymph node metastasis. The curves for patients with well-differentiated adenocarcinoma were significantly more favorable than for those with moderately or poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Fifteen patients with small pancreatic carcinomas, the greatest diameter being less than 3 cm, had more favorable postsurgical outcomes, with a cumulative two-year survival rate of 45%, compared to 81 patients with more advanced carcinomas, with a rate of 11% (P less than 0.05). In the majority of cases, the tumor contained carcinoembryonic antigen, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 and Ha-ras p21 immunoreactants in cell membranes or cytoplasm of the cells and/or in the stroma. There was no significant relationship between the immunohistochemical results and the clinical outcome.