Background: Resectable adenocarcinomas in the pancreatic head, by definition "periampullary", originate from ampullary, duodenal, biliary, or ductal pancreatic epithelium. Typically, periampullary adenocarcinomas have either intestinal or pancreatobiliary type of differentiation, and the type of differentiation might be prognostically more important than the anatomic site of origin. The aim of the study was to determine whether the histologic type of differentiation is an independent prognostic factor in periampullary adenocarcinoma, and whether tumour origin predicts the prognosis in pancreatobiliary type carcinomas independently of resection margin involvement, tumour size, nodal involvement, perineural and vascular infiltration, and degree of differentiation.

Background: The retroperitoneal margin is frequently microscopically tumour positive in non-curative periampullary adenocarcinoma resections. This margin should be evaluated by serial perpendicular sectioning. The aim of the study was to determine whether retroperitoneal margin involvement independently predicts survival after pancreaticoduodenectomy within a framework of standardized assessment of the resected specimens.

Long-term survival for patients with ampullary carcinomas equals pancreatic, biliary, and duodenal carcinomas when the same histologic type is compared. It can be questioned whether ampullary carcinomas should be regarded as a separate entity in classification of solid tumors. Clinical trials on adjuvant treatments for periampullary carcinomas should stratify by pancreatobiliary type versus intestinal type of histologic differentiation.