Abstract
Periampullary tumors originate from ampullary, duodenal, biliary, or ductal pancreatic epithelium. These cancers vary in outcome after surgical resection.
Overall survival after pancreaticoduodenectomy is best for patients with ampullary and duodenal cancers, intermediate for patients with bile duct cancer, and worst for patients with pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer and ampulary cancer are histogenetically different carcinomas Tumor biology rather than anatomic factors probably causes these differences in survival.