Predictors of long-term survival following resection for ampullary carcinoma: a large retrospective French multicentric study.

OBJECTIVES: Ampullary carcinoma is a rare tumor. There are neither sufficient available data related to management after resection of the neoplasm of the ampulla of Vater, nor any international recommendations. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with recurrence and survival after curative resection.

METHODS: A retrospective follow-up study was conducted including patients with ampullary carcinoma who underwent resection with curative intent in 12 French surgical centers between January 1990 and November 2011.

RESULTS: In this study, 319 patients underwent surgical resection for an ampullary neoplasm. Disease recurred in 120 patients (37.6%), and the 5- and 10-year disease-free survival rates were 48.9% and 40.4%, respectively. In multivariable Cox regression, preoperative bilirubin, T stage, pancreaticobiliary histology subtype, and lymph node involvement were each significantly associated with the risk of recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS: Ampullary carcinomas are a heterogeneous group that can be classified as intestinal and pancreaticobiliary subtypes. Our findings indicate that pancreaticobiliary differentiation, advanced stage, and lymph node involvement are predictors of both poor disease-free and poor overall survival. It is still unclear what adjuvant treatment after curative resection of ampullary carcinoma is optimal. It would be informative to evaluate adjuvant therapy according to histological subtype.