Surgical Treatment and Prognosis of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Tumors—the Role of Minimally Invasive Surgery
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2026 | Viewed by 116
Special Issue Editor
2. Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Zamboni, 33, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Interests: hepato-biliary tumors; pancreatic tumors; robotic surgery
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The management of hepato-biliary and pancreatic (HPB) tumors remains a clinical challenge. Although multimodal treatment—integrating personalized sequences of systemic therapies, locoregional treatments, and surgical resection—has increasingly proven to be the cornerstone of optimizing oncological outcomes, HPB surgery continues to be technically demanding. In this context MIS approaches are particularly attractive, with their faster postoperative recovery compared to open surgery facilitating the complex, stepwise therapeutic pathways that characterize the management of most HPB malignancies.
Robotic surgery offers superior dexterity and visualization, enabling meticulous handling of delicate structures such as pancreatic and biliary ducts, vascular structures, and lymph nodes. These technical advantages provide a solid foundation for achieving surgical safety and oncological radicality while simultaneously promoting enhanced recovery. An expanding body of literature is currently evaluating the role of robotic surgery in perihilar tumors, and evidence supporting robotic pancreatoduodenectomy has recently reached prospective and trial-level quality, suggesting that this approach is becoming an established component of HPB surgery.
Conventional laparoscopy remains a cost-effective and well-established option for many liver resections and left pancreatectomies. Nevertheless, robotic platforms’ increasing availability, coupled with growing surgeon expertise in robotic techniques, is expected to progressively shift the balance toward robotics in the near future, including in the fields of hepatectomy and left pancreatectomy.
Considering this background, the present Special Issue, “Surgical Treatment and Prognosis of Hepato-Biliary and Pancreatic Tumors—the Role of Minimally Invasive Surgery,” aims to provide a comprehensive overview of perioperative and oncological outcomes—such as surgical radicality and the adequacy of lymphadenectomy—while emphasizing the role of surgery within multimodal treatment strategies. Particular attention will be devoted to how minimally invasive approaches may influence access to and timing of adjuvant therapies in patients with primary and metastatic liver tumors, as well as biliary and pancreatic malignancies.
Specific topics of interest include robotic resection of perihilar tumors and robotic pancreatoduodenectomy for both pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and non-PDAC periampullary tumors. High-quality evidence on minimally invasive liver resection and left pancreatectomy are also highly relevant to the scope of this Special Issue, and contributions that elucidate the advantages of minimally invasive surgery within multimodal treatment frameworks are particularly encouraged. Meta-analyses and/or original investigations, including results from national and/or international registries, will be instrumental in ensuring that this Special Issue attains a high level of scientific authority.
Prof. Dr. Giorgio Ercolani
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- liver tumor
- cholangiocarcinoma
- pancreatic tumor
- robotic surgery
- mini-invasive treatment
- treatment multimodality
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