Stereotactic ablative body radiation therapy for isolated pulmonary metastases from pancreatic cancer after metastectomy with positive margins: a case report

Isolated pulmonary oligometastases as the first site of dissemination after initial resection of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PC) is a rare event, and the treatment in this subgroup is challenging. Recurrence in the lung after initial primary tumour resection is associated with the most long-term survivors of patients with metastatic PC. Stereotactic ablative body radiation therapy (SABR) or metastectomy for pulmonary oligometastases from PC is becoming more common. However, patients with close or positive margins after metastectomy for isolated pulmonary metastatic PC are at high risk for recurrence. This requires a treatment capable of achieving high rates of local control and improved quality of life by delaying the need for systemic chemotherapy. In other settings, SABR has been shown to achieve these goals, allowing safe dose escalation with excellent conformity and short duration of treatment.

We report the case of a 48-year old Caucasian man with a history of locally advanced PC initially treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by Whipple’s resection in August 2016. After a disease-free interval of 3 years, he developed three isolated pulmonary metastases which were treated with local resection. In the setting of microscopically positive resection margins (R1), adjuvant lung SABR was delivered to all three sites. His treated lung disease remained radiologically stable for up to twenty months after SABR. Treatment was well tolerated. In January 2021, he developed a malignant pre-tracheal node which was treated with conventionally fractionated radiotherapy and remained controlled for the duration of follow-up. A year later, he developed widespread metastatic disease including pleura, bone and adrenal gland, together with presumed progression in one of the original lung lesions, receiving palliative radiotherapy for right chest wall pain. He was later found to have an intracranial metastasis and died in February 2022, 5½ years after initial treatment.

We present the case of a patient treated with SABR after R1 resection of 3 isolated pulmonary metastases from PC, with no treatment toxicities and durable local control. For well-selected patients in this setting, adjuvant lung SABR may be a safe and effective treatment option.