Prognostic Effect of Aberrant Right Hepatic Artery with Pancreaticoduodenectomy: Focus on Hepatic Recurrence

Introduction Metastatic progression occurs along the locoregional vasculature, and a common anatomic variant is an aberrant right hepatic artery (aRHA). This study evaluated the effect of an aRHA following pancreaticoduodenectomy, with a focus on hepatic metastases. Methods This was a single-institution retrospective review of non-metastatic pancreatic cancer cases between 2012 and 2020. aRHA cases were compared with patients with conventional anatomy. The primary outcome was hepatic recurrence rates, while secondary analysis survival outcomes were measured by overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Subgroup analysis was stratified by tumor resectability and utilization of systemic therapy. Results Overall, 207 cases were reviewed, with 17.4% having aRHA anatomy. On multivariate analysis, aRHA increased hepatic recurrence for all-comers (odds ratio [OR] 4.76, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.18–10.38; p < 0.001). aRHA was significant for resectable tumors (OR 2.58, 95% CI 1.89–6.66; p = 0.045) and borderline resectable tumors (OR 28.88, 95% CI 5.52–151.18; p < 0.0001) in regard to hepatic recurrence on univariate analysis. Increased hepatic recurrence correlated with decreased 3-year OS and DFS rates of 30.6% versus 50.3% (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.20–0.94; p = 0.032) and 13.6% versus 36.9% (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.08–0.97; p = 0.035). Systemic therapy limited the effects of aRHA. Conclusion aRHA was associated with inferior survival outcomes due to the significantly increased risk of hepatic metastatic disease with aberrant anatomy. This study provides important prognostic information for a commonly encountered anatomic variant.