Chronic Pancreatitis as a Risk Factor for the Development of Pancreatic Cancer - Diagnostic Challenges

Patients with chronic pancreatitis are burdened with an increased risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Strategies or guidelines for the surveillance and early detection of pancreatic adenocarcinoma in patients with chronic pancreatitis are not established, because available clinical, serologic or imaging techniques are still of limited sensitivity and specificity. Despite these limitations do patients with chronic pancreatitis and suspected pancreatic cancer need a careful and sometimes repeated diagnostic work-up. A clear benefit of surveillance programs outside of clinical trials for the early detection of pancreatic cancer has not been demonstrated. A 51-year-old patient with chronic pancreatitis is reported who developed cancer of the pancreatic head while undergoing repeated imaging studies.