Fedez’s surgeon: “The pancreas surgery was complex, if the lymph nodes were not affected the disease is less aggressive”

At the end of March, he had been in the operating room for six hours to have a neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas and in his subsequent posts Fedez he had told both the success of the operation and his return home, thanking all the staff of the San Raffaele hospital who had treated him.

Now, during the presentation of the Love Mi concert (free event to be held on June 28 in Piazza Duomo in Milan) he returned to talk about the disease: “I consider myself lucky, because the histological examination has arrived and the lymph nodes have not been taken, so I didn’t have to have chemo. 90% is fine, I just have to recover, because my duodenum, gallbladder, pancreas and a piece of intestine have been removed. It is a very rare, striking tumor maybe one in a million. It’s Steve Jobs’ tumor, so to speak ». Newsand which reassure the fans and all those who felt close to the rapper, who did not want to hide his rare disease, showing even in the first photos with eyes reddened by tears that initial sense of discomfort and fear that unites him all patients when they are diagnosed with cancer.

But what does it mean, exactly what the histological report indicates and that the lymph nodes have not been affected?

“I take the liberty of not entering into Federico’s personal stories, but of taking the cue to clarify the medical aspects related to the interpretation of a histological examination of an operative piece in which a tumor is present – replies Massimo Falconi, director of the Pancreas Center of the ‘IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital in Milan, at the head of the team that operated on the singer -. All neoplastic diseases with aggressive potential can “release” neoplastic cells along two routes: the lymphatic and the blood, migrating to the lymph nodes and / or distantly. The absence of lymph node involvement therefore represents a less aggressive disease or an earlier disease “.

At the press conference for Love Mi Fedez he also spoke about the classification of his disease, saying that «Mine was G1, which means ‘a lot of ass’ …»: what does it mean, translated into medical language?
«Some neoplasms, such as neuroendocrine and breast tumors, use an additional prognostic parameter that can help us interpret the aggressiveness of the disease. Through a particular method a protein is searched in the tumor tissue called Ki67 which tells us what the proliferative index of the neoplastic cells is. It is expressed as a percentage from 1 to 100 and G1 means that the proliferation of neoplastic cells is less than 3%, therefore very low ”, explains Falconi.

As he himself stated, the operation was important: is the removal of the duodenum, gallbladder, pancreas and a piece of intestine a practice? And can you have a normal life?

“In fact, not all of the pancreas has been removed, but only the part relating to the head. Although several organs and bowels have been eliminated, the continuity between the various tubes of the digestive system is rebuilt. It is certain that you can live well as Federico demonstrates as a splendid testimonial. It is one of the most complex operations, which is why centers and highly experienced surgeons are needed ».

At 90% everything is fine: what are the expectations for patients with this diagnosis? What is the procedure of controls or therapies to be expected?
«Once again I do not go into the specific merits of the individual patient. Life expectancy depends on numerous factors. In general, neuroendocrine tumors can have an excellent prognosis which often corresponds to recovery ».