Long-term survival and pattern of recurrence in ampullary adenocarcinoma patients after curative Whipple's resection: a retrospective cohort study in the National Cancer Center in China.

Due to the low incidence of ampullary adenocarcinoma (AA), the recurrence patterns, risk factors for recurrence and post-recurrence treatment are still debated. The purpose of this study is to clarify such clinical issues based on the retrospective data at the National Cancer Center in China. Finally, one hundred and eighty-two AA patients after curative Whipple's resection from 1998 to 2019 were retrospectively reviewed. Among them, 27 patients had locoregional recurrence and 61 patients had systemic recurrence. However, no significant difference of clinicopathological features and survival were found between locoregional recurrence and distant metastasis. In the recurrence group, the 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year recurrence-free survival and overall survival were 59.1%, 29.5%, 10.2%, 88.6%, 61.6%, and 37.6%, respectively. AA patients with recurrence have a worse prognosis than those without recurrence, regardless of stage. In addition, we found that advanced T stage and lymphovascular invasion were two independent risk factors for RFS in AA patients after curative Whipple's resection. In conclusion, AA patients with recurrence have a poor prognosis. Advanced T stage and lymphovascular invasion were two independent risk factors for recurrence-free survival in AA patients after curative Whipple's resection. Nevertheless, further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to fully validate.