Figure 1 |. Study schema and classification into recurrence groups.

Patients with resectable pancreatic cancer (PaC; n=49) who underwent upfront resection were subjected to intraoperative liver biopsy following diagnosis (Dx). Specimens were analyzed postoperatively and patients were followed thereafter to assess for timing and pattern of recurrence (median follow-up: 36 months). Patients were classified into 4 recurrence groups: early (<6 months post resection) or late (>6 months post resection) liver metastasis (LiM), distant extrahepatic metastasis (EHM), and disease-free survivors (NED). Patients with isolated local recurrence (n=5) were classified separately and excluded from comparisons of individual recurrence groups, as described in the manuscript and summarized in the table above. Patients with benign or pre-malignant (peri-)pancreatic lesions undergoing pancreatectomy were recruited as controls and underwent similar specimen collection and analysis (Non-PaC; n=19). K-M, Kaplan-Meier.