BACKGROUND: Radical antegrade modular pancreatosplenectomy (RAMPS) has been reported as a modified surgical technique used to achieve better margin resection and to retrieve more lymph nodes compared with standard retrograde pancreatosplenectomy (SRPS).

MATERIAL AND METHODS: A systematic literature review was performed to identify studies published in PubMed, EmBase, and Web of Science. Hazard ratio (HR), risk ratio (RR), weighted mean difference (WMD), and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs) were used as effect measures. In addition, the clinical data of 27 patients in our center were collected and retrospectively analyzed.

RESULTS: Seven studies containing 474 patients were finally enrolled in this meta-analysis. The pooled results showed that the RAMPS group had a better overall survival (OS) compared with the SRPS group (HR=0.65, 95% CI: 0.43–0.99, P=0.046; I²=41.8%, P=0.143). Significantly more lymph nodes were harvested in the RAMPS group compared with in the SRPS group (WMD=4.74, 95% CI: 0.36–9.12, P=0.034). Recurrence rate (RR=0.8, 95% CI: 0.66–0.98, P=0.028) and blood loss (WMD=–153.19 ml, 95% CI: –303.95 to –2.42, P=0.046) were both significantly reduced in the RAMPS group. Retrospective analysis results showed that only significantly more harvested lymph nodes were noted in the RAMPS group compared with the SRPS group (7.55±0.91 vs. 2.81±0.73, P=0.001).

CONCLUSIONS: Our study suggests that RAMPS has better prognosis and surgical outcomes than SRPS for left-sided pancreatic cancer. Nevertheless, more high-quality clinical trials are required to validate the result.

Keywords: general surgery, Pancreatic Neoplasms, Aged, 80 and over, Lymph Node Excision, Lymph Nodes, Margins of Excision, Odds Ratio, Pancreatectomy, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Splenectomy