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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Nov 15, 2025; 17(11): 112248
Published online Nov 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i11.112248
Published online Nov 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i11.112248
Reassessing the role of lymph node dissection in pancreatic cancer surgery: Balancing oncologic control and immune function preservation
Yi-Han Xu, Department of The First Operation Room, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
Yan Jiao, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, General Surgery Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China
Author contributions: Xu YH wrote the initial draft; Jiao Y contributed to the study design, literature review, and revisions to the final manuscript; all authors approved the final version to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yan Jiao, Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, General Surgery Center, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Xinmin Street, Changchun 130021, Jilin Province, China. jiaoyan@jlu.edu.cn
Received: July 22, 2025
Revised: August 7, 2025
Accepted: September 28, 2025
Published online: November 15, 2025
Processing time: 115 Days and 11.8 Hours
Revised: August 7, 2025
Accepted: September 28, 2025
Published online: November 15, 2025
Processing time: 115 Days and 11.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The extent of lymph node dissection in pancreatic cancer surgery remains contentious. While extended lymphadenectomy does not improve survival outcomes, it increases morbidity and may impair immune function. This minireview calls for a more individualized approach to lymphadenectomy, considering both oncologic efficacy and immune preservation, in line with the evolving landscape of immunotherapy.