To the Editor:
Klinkenbijl et al. have reported survival results for a Phase III trial of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy to patients with both pancreatic and periampullary cancer (Ann Surg 230:776–784). The results show a trend (P = .099) toward statistically significant improved survival for those with pancreatic adenocarcinoma assigned to the treatment regimen. However, they have not reported the comparison of those actually treated with adjuvant chemoradiotherapy against those who did not receive the therapy (there were 23 patients assigned to treatment who did not receive the therapy—I extrapolate from the text that there were 5 of the 50 patients with pancreatic cancer assigned to treatment but not treated, and 18 with periampullary cancer and not treated). It seems only fair to the readers (and to the therapy) to provide us with these comparison.
January 21, 2000
John P. Hoffman MD, FACS