A case of intraductal papillary adenocarcinoma of the pancreas associated with mass forming chronic pancreatitis

Mass-forming pancreatitis with positive fluoro-2-deoxy-D: -glucose positron emission tomography and positive diffusion-weighted imaging-magnetic resonance imaging: Report of a case

It is difficult to make an accurate radiological diagnosis of a pancreatic tumor because of its location and anatomical characteristics. Mass-forming pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer are particularly difficult to differentiate. New diagnostic technology, which includes diffusion-weighted imaging-magnetic resonance imaging (DWI-MRI) and 2-[(18)F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-Dglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET), offers hope for the detection of classical pancreatic cancer. Few studies have been conducted on FDG-PET and DWI-MRI as tools used to distinguish between mass-forming pancreatitis and pancreatic cancers. Furthermore, positive findings of mass-forming pancreatitis on DWI-MRI and FDG-PET have yet to be documented. We report a case of a pancreatic head tumor, present on FDG-PET and DWI-MRI which, on closer examination, revealed benign mass-forming pancreatitis. We discuss the utility of FDG-PET and DWI-MRI as preoperative diagnostic tools.

Intraductal carcinoma (carcinoma in situ) of the pancreas with microinvasion

We report a case of predominantly intraductal carcinoma of the pancreas with microscopic foci of invasive carcinoma in a patient with chronic pancreatitis. In this article, we discuss the pathologic and prognostic features of pancreatic carcinoma in situ. This entity is probably overlooked due to a number of reasons, including the fact that, in most cases, pancreatic ductal carcinomas are extensively infiltrative at the time of surgical removal; the atypical epithelial changes in the intraductal carcinoma had been overlooked in the presence or absence of an invasive component; epithelial changes may be missed due to insufficient sampling; and last, the differentiation with atypical epithelial hyperplasia is a subjective matter. Intraductal carcinoma of the pancreas is a distinct pathological entity with characteristic morphologic changes restricted to the ductal epithelium, bearing important prognostic implications.