Cancer of the pancreas is the fourth cause of death due to cancer in developed countries and surgeons and oncologists are showing an increasing interest in the improvement of survival. This has prompted pathologists to develop better, standardized protocols for the evaluation of surgical specimens from pancreatectomies.
The different problems that the pathologist may encounter when examining surgical specimens from pancreatoduodenectomies, as well as the different nomenclature used to define resection margins and infiltration are discussed. The protocol followed at the University Hospital of Valencia, based on European and American protocols as well as our own experience, is described.