Search

Background Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs) are rare pancreatic neoplasms. About 40–80% of patients with PNET are metastatic at presentation, usually involving the liver (40–93%). Liver metastasis represents the most significant prognostic factor. The aim of this study is to present an up-to-date review of treatment options for patients with liver metastases from PNETs. Methods A systematic literature search was performed using the PubMed database to identify all pertinent studies published up to May 2018. Results The literature search evaluated all the therapeutic options for patients with liver metastases of PNETs, including surgical treatment, loco-regional therapies, and pharmacological treatment. All the different treatment options showed particular indications in different presentations of liver metastases of PNET. Surgery remains the only potentially curative therapeutic option in patients with PNETs and resectable liver metastases, even if relapse rates are high. Efficacy of medical treatment has increased with advances in targeted therapies, such as everolimus and sunitinib, and the introduction of radiolabeled somatostatin analogs. Several techniques for loco-regional control of metastases are available, including chemo- or radioembolization. Conclusions Treatment of patients with PNET metastases should be multidisciplinary and must be personalized according to the features of individual patients and tumors.

Aim The optimal treatment for advanced gallbladder cancer, in particular T2 stage cancer, is unclear. The use of "radical cholecystectomy" or more extended procedures with extra-hepatic bile duct resection are matter of debate. Due to the lack of consensus regarding the oncological significance of routine extra-hepatic bile duct (EBD) resection for gallbladder carcinoma, we decided to perform a systematic review investigating the real benefit of this procedure focusing on the primary outcomes of overall survival and disease-free survival. Methods A systematic literature search was performed using PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus and the Cochrane Library Central according to the PRISMA statement guidelines for conducting and reporting systematic reviews. Multiple primary and secondary outcomes were analyzed. Results The selected articles included 424 patients who underwent routine EBD resection without bile duct infiltration. Only two papers discussed the number of dissected lymph nodes during EBD resection for gallbladder carcinoma. Four of the seven included papers reported on tumor involvement in lymph nodes at rates ranging between 39% and 83%. All of the studies included in this systematic review reported on results of overall survival. In general, 5-years OS rate of the EBD-resected patients was not significantly different than that of the EBD-preservation group, while the mobility was significantly higher in the EBD resection group. Conclusions Routine EBD resection in gallbladder cancer patients without bile duct infiltration is not associated with improved overall survival, improved lymph-node harvesting or with minor recurrence rate, but it is associated with higher morbidity rates.