Difference between intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Objective To identify difference between intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) and pancreatic common ductal adenocarcinoma. Methods Between March 2003 and June 2006, 29 patients with pathological diagnosis of IPMN and 46 patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma in Zhongshan Hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical, biochemical, and histopathologic factors were retrospectively analyzed. Prognosis between two groups were compared by log-rank test.Results The proportion with no symptom visit in IPMN was obviously higher than in pancreatic cancer. Twenty-one of 29 specimens were malignant in IPMN. Stage of the malignant IPMN was significantly earlier than that of the pancreatic adenocarcinoma (P=0.017). Intrapancreatic neural invasion was more common in pancreatic adenocarcinoma than in malignant IPMN (P=0.005). The survival curve of the malignant IPMN was significantly better than that of the pancreatic adenocarcinoma (P=0.014). Conclusion IPMN with less aggressive bionomics can be diagnosed and treated in an earlier stage. So its prognosis is better than that of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Prognosis of malignant IPMN which is more invasive than stage Ⅱ B is simular to that of common pancreatic cancer. However, this conclusion should be further investigated. Key words: Pancreatic neoplasms; Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm; Prognosis