PB0837 - Neutrophil extracellular traps in pancreatic cancer: correlation with portal vein thrombosis and long-term prognosis

Background: Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) play an important role in the occurrence and progression of malignant tumors.

Aims: This study aims to explore the impact of NETs on the occurrence of portal vein thrombosis (PVT) and long-term prognosis after pancreatic cancer surgery.

Methods: We retrospectively collected clinical pathological data from January 2011 to December 2022 and prospectively collected clinical pathological data from January 2023 to September 2023 for pancreatic cancer surgery patients at our hospital. We divided all patients into high NETs group and low NETs group based on the expression level of NETs by immunofluorescence staining on tumor tissues.

Results: In retrospective studies, a total of 297 patients were included, while in prospective studies, 64 cases were included. The incidence of PVT were 20.2% (60/297) and 25.0% (16/64) respectively. In retrospective and prospective studies, the high NETs group had significantly higher occurrence of PVT compared to the low NETs group, with 24.5% vs 13.3% (P=0.024) and 36.1% vs 10.7% (P=0.020), respectively. In the Cox analysis, there was a clear association between NETs and tumor recurrence (P=0.042, hazard ratio [HR]=2.413) as well as overall survival (P=0.036, HR=2.011) in patients with pancreatic cancer.

Conclusion(s): In patients undergoing pancreatic cancer surgery, there is a clear correlation between NETs and the occurrence of postoperative PVT, with high NETs being associated with a poor prognosis.