The risks of pancreatic and nonpancreatic cancers are increased in the course of chronic pancreatitis, the former being significantly higher than the latter. The very high incidence of pancreatic cancer in smokers probably suggests that, in addition to cigarette smoking, some other factor linked to chronic inflammation of the pancreas may be responsible for the increased risk.

No abstract

Pancreatic metastases from a renal cell carcinoma are rare and may occur long after manifestation of the primary disease. Resection of the metastases should be regarded as the best treatment. In our center, owing to the slow evolution of these secondaries, we perform resections capable of limiting the destruction of the pancreatic parenchyma as far as possible. The use of ‘atypical’ resections of the pancreas is characterized by a higher incidence of postoperative complications, particularly fistulas. Despite this, we believe that adjusted resection is to be advocated because of the possibility of additional remote secondaries, the shorter duration of surgery, the preservation of the glandular parenchyma and intact adjacent organs, such as duodenum, stomach, and spleen, and the fact that there have been no reports on local recurrences.

No abstract

Octreotide appears useful in the treatment of external pancreatic fistulas. For optimal results to be achieved, there must be no local infection and no mechanical or anatomical obstacles to the free flow of juice.