Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas (IPMN) shows a wide spectrum of histological presentations, ranging from adenoma with mild atypia to adenocarcinoma. In general, branch duct IPMN develops slowly and has a comparatively good prognosis. However, in several studies, it became evident that IPMN is a disease that very frequently coexists with cancer. Several investigators have suggested that the prognosis of the IPMN is more closely related to coexisting diseases than IPMN per se.
A research article to be published on April 21, 2010 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology addresses this question. The research team led by PhD Takao Itoi, from Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Tokyo Medical University, reviewed the records of 145 patients with branch duct IPMN between January 1991 and April 2008 and assessed the relationship between IPMN and intra- or extra-pancreatic carcinoma and the outcome of IPMN.
Their results showed the prognosis for IPMN depends not on the IPMN per se, but on the presence of intra- or extra-pancreatic cancer. It appears to be important to determine the presence of intra- or extrapancreatic cancer when examining the patients with IPMN.