The Role of Staging Laparoscopy in Resectable and Borderline Resectable Pancreatic Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

AIM: The study aimed to determine the additional value of staging laparoscopy in patients with pancreatic cancer deemed potentially resectable based on computed tomography imaging.

METHODS: A systematic literature search was performed using MEDLINE and the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials (January 1995 to June 2017). Primary outcome measures were the overall yield and sensitivity to detect non-resectable disease. Quality of studies was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

RESULTS: From 156 records, 15 studies including 2,776 patients met the inclusion criteria. In 12 studies, reporting outcomes on 1,756 patients with resectable disease after standard imaging, 350 (20%, range 14-38%) cases of non-resectable cancer were detected with staging laparoscopy. In 3 studies on 242 patients with locally advanced disease after standard imaging, staging laparoscopy detected metastases in 86 patients (36%). The failure rate of staging laparoscopy to detect non-resectable disease was 5% (64 of 1,406).

CONCLUSION: Staging laparoscopy reduces the non-therapeutic laparotomy rate, and in locally advanced or borderline resectable disease, staging laparoscopy could more accurately select patients for neoadjuvant protocols.