Clinical Research Directory

Pancreatic Head Resection or Total Pancreatectomy With Islet Autotransplantation in Patients With Periampullary Cancer and High Risk Profile for the Development of Postoperative Pancreatic Fistula

The primary objective of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether primary total pancreatectomy with simultaneous islet autotransplantation compared with pancreatic head resection (alone) can reduce perioperative morbidity and time to initiation of adjuvant therapy in patients with a high-risk constellation for pancreatic fistulas.

Pancreatic Parenchymal Injection of N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate

This randomized controlled trial investigates the safety and efficacy of injecting N-butyl-2- cyanoacrylate (Histoacryl®) into the pancreatic parenchyma during pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) to enhance the security of the pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ) anastomosis and reduce postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) rates.

Tissue Adhesive Glue Modified Cyanoacrylate (Glubran® 2) in Soft Pancreas

This is a single-center, randomized controlled trial comparing the efficacy of pancreaticojejunostomy with modified N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate(Glubran® 2) versus standard pancreaticojejunostomy without cyanoacrylate in preventing postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy with soft pancreatic texture. The primary endpoint is the incidence of postoperative pancreatic fistula at 30 days post-surgery, as defined by the International Study Group on Pancreatic Fistula (ISGPF) criteria.Secondary outcomes include surgical complications and length of hospital stay. The study will enroll approximately 194 patients at a single center.

Saleh's Technique for Pancreaticojejunostomy (Pancreatic Parenchymal Injection of N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate)

This study investigates the safety and efficacy of injecting N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (Histoacryl®) into the pancreatic parenchyma during pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) to enhance the security of the pancreaticojejunostomy (PJ) anastomosis and reduce postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) rates.

Neoadjuvant vs Upfront Surgery for Resectable Pancreatic Cancer and Periampullary Cancer

Adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery significantly improved the survival of pancreatic cancer (PC) patients, but there is a problem that only about 50% of patients start adjuvant chemotherapy after pancreatectomy. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy might control potential metastatic lesions which are not being detected in early disease status and improve the R0 resection rate. In addition, it prevents futile surgery by selecting patients with rapid progression of disease. Furthermore, compared to chemotherapy administered after surgery, more patients can complete the planned chemotherapy schedule in neoadjuvant setting. There are still few studies worldwide that prospectively explored the efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy in resectable PC and periampullary cancer and the administration of neoadjuvant therapy in resectable PC depends on individual clinical judgment. Therefore, systematic and prospective clinical trials are essential to standardize treatment protocol in resectable PC and periampullary Cancer. This randomized controlled trial compares neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by surgery versus upfront surgery for patients with clearly resectable pancreatic head cancer and periampullary cancer. The study aims to determine if neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves overall survival compared to immediate surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy.

Laparoscopic Pancreaticoduodenectomy

Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy was first performed by Garner and Pomp in 1994. This is a technically difficult, time consuming and high rate of complication procedure. The reason is that duodenum and head of pancreas locate deeply in retroperitoneum and are surrounded by important structures such as inferior vena cava, abdominal aorta, superior mesenteric artery, superior mesenteric vein (SMV), portal vein (PV) and hepatic arteries. Injuring these structures during the surgery can lead to life-threatening complications. Moreover, doing anastomoses through laparoscopy, especially pancreatic anastomosis, is more difficult and takes more time than through open approach. The outcome of PD has improved over the last two decades due to advances in surgical techniques, anesthesia and perioperative care. Although studies from high volume centers demonstrate reduce in the operative mortality to less than 3%, the postoperative morbidity rate is still ranging from 30% to 60%. Laparoscopic surgery is being used increasingly as a less invasive alternative to traditional interventions for pancreatic resection. Laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy (LPD) is a difficult procedure that has become increasingly popular. Nevertheless, comparative data on outcomes remain limited. In this prospective study, investigators evaluate the safety and feasibility of surgical and oncological outcomes of minimally invasive PD.

Prehabilitation in Pancreatic Surgery

In patients with pancreatic cancer, older age, multiple comorbidities, frailty, malnutrition and poor functional status are common, especially in individuals receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. These characteristics represent potentially modifiable risk factors for poor postoperative outcomes. The goal of this clinical randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the extent to which a four-week multimodal prehabilitation program impacts on postoperative morbidity, functional and nutritional status and health-related quality of life in patients with localized pancreatic or periampullary cancer scheduled for curative surgery. In addition, the impact of prehabilitation on circulating sarcopenia and cancer cachexia biomarkers in PDAC patients will be explored. Included patients will be randomized (ratio 1:1) and allocated either to the intervention group (Multimodal Prehabilitation), which will receive prehabilitation, or to the control group, which will receive no prehabilitation.

Predictive Risk Factors for Pancreatic Fistula After Pancreaticoduodenectomy

Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is a complex procedure performed in patients with malignant or benign tumors of the pancreatic head and periampullary region, associated with high morbidity and mortality. Postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF) is the most common and clinically significant complication following PD. In this study, the investigators aim to determine the predictive risk factors for clinically related postoperative pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF) in the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative period in patients that underwent PD. The total number of 100 participants expected to be included in this research who underwent PD between 2025 and 2026.

The Role of the Human Microbiome in Patients After Pancreatic Resection.

The goal of this observational study is to classify patients that undergo pancreatic resection for presumed pancreatic or periampullary malignancy into high and low risk groups for postoperative complications based on longitudinal saliva, rectal/faecal, tumor, blood and/or bile microbiome profiles. To identify the dynamics of the microbiome, as well as the possibly related short-term and long-term complications, multiple samples at different timepoints are needed from the patients.

Prognostic Factors in Periampullary Tumors and Cysts

The project aims at analysing prognostic and predictive factors involved in diagnostics and surgical treatment of cysts and tumors in the pancreas and periampullary region using both clinical data and blood and tissue samples for biomarker development and validation.