2020 Volume 35 Issue 4 Pages 280-292
Neoadjuvant therapy is increasingly used for patients with pancreatic cancer to reduce the size of the primary tumor, treat micrometastases, and eventually improve overall survival. Pathology specimens after neoadjuvant treatment contain accurate information regarding the amount and viability of residual cancer cells and fibrosis. Thus, pathologic assessment of treatment effects may be important to predict patient outcomes after tumor resection. There has been recent progress in molecular pathology research focusing on genetic and protein changes in specimens after neoadjuvant therapy. There are several methods of pathological assessment of treatment effects, but their objectivity, reproducibility and prognostic utility are still controversial.
