During follow-up of branch duct IPMNs, ductal carcinoma of the pancreas not infrequently developed distinct from IPMN. In the follow-up of IPMN, special attention should be paid to the development of ductal carcinoma of the pancreas.

These findings suggest that PDAC concomitant with IPMN and PDAC derived from IPMN may have more favorable biological behaviors or be diagnosed earlier than ordinary PDAC.

Results of this trial suggest that a combination of preoperative full-dose gemcitabine, concurrent 3D-conformal radiation, surgery, and postoperative LPC is feasible for the treatment of T3-pancreatic cancer. Using the method described in this article, we were able to effectively reduce the incidence of both local and liver recurrence. Therefore, this type of combination therapy seems promising for improving long-term outcomes for patients with T3-cancers of the pancreas. This study is registered with University hospital Medical information Network clinical trials Registry number, UMIN000001804.

The role of atrophic gastritis of the gastric corpus (fundal atrophic gastritis) as a high-risk factor was investigated by studying operative findings and follow-up data on 690 patients with benign gastric diseases recorded at the Osaka Cancer Registry. The extent of fundal atrophic gastritis was determined by the endoscopic Congo red test. The patients were followed-up from the time of endoscopic examination (1968 to 1976) to December 31, 1987. The vital status of 654 patients (94.8%) at the end of the observation period was determined. During the follow-up period, 22 patients were found to have gastric cancer. The extent of fundal atrophic gastritis was shown to be closely related with the risk of developing gastric cancer. Patients who had been diagnosed as having severe fundal atrophic gastritis showed significantly higher risk of gastric cancer than patients who had been diagnosed as having little or no fundal atrophic gastritis (5.76-fold, calculated with adjustments for age, sex and the follow-up period). A positive linear relationship was found between the risk of developing gastric cancer and the extent of fundal atrophic gastritis. The observed number of gastric cancers was compared with the expected number calculated from the incidence in Osaka Prefecture. Analysis of the results showed that the observed and expected numbers of gastric cancers in patients with severe fundal atrophic gastritis were 11 and 4.8, respectively, the ratio of observed to expected numbers being 2.3 (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that severe fundal atrophic gastritis is a major risk factor for gastric cancer.

Preoperative irradiation improves both the resectability and curability of carcinoma of the pancreas head area and should improve patient survival. We retrospectively investigated the value of preoperative irradiation in preventing pancreatic fistula formation. Of 76 consecutive patients who underwent pancreaticojejunostomy by mucosa-to-mucosa anastomosis with a stent catheter after pancreatoduodenectomy, 22 had received preoperative irradiation. The irradiation field included the anastomotic site. In two patients, accidental dislocation of the stent catheter was the apparent cause of fistula formation, but the other 21 patients in the irradiated group developed no fistula. In contrast, nine (17%) of 53 patients in the nonirradiated group developed fistulas. In the irradiated group, preoperative selenomethionine Se 75 scintigraphy revealed a cold area corresponding to the pancreas body, which was included in the irradiation field. Thus, a putative decrease in exocrine function at the pancreatic anastomotic site could explain why fistula formation was prevented by preoperative irradiation.