Ampullary Adenocarcinoma, Version 1.2023, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.

Ampullary cancers refer to tumors originating from the ampulla of Vater (the ampulla, the intraduodenal portion of the bile duct, and the intraduodenal portion of the pancreatic duct), while periampullary cancers may arise from locations encompassing the head of the pancreas, distal bile duct, duodenum, or ampulla of Vater. Ampullary cancers are rare gastrointestinal malignancies, and prognosis varies greatly based on factors such as patient age, TNM classification, differentiation grade, and treatment modality received. Systemic therapy is used in all stages of ampullary cancer, including neoadjuvant therapy, adjuvant therapy, and first-line or subsequent-line therapy for locally advanced, metastatic, and recurrent disease. Radiation therapy may be used in localized ampullary cancer, sometimes in combination with chemotherapy, but there is no high-level evidence to support its utility. Select tumors may be treated surgically. This article describes NCCN recommendations regarding management of ampullary adenocarcinoma.

Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Version 2.2021, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.

Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women in the United States. A major challenge in treatment remains patients' advanced disease at diagnosis. The NCCN Guidelines for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma provides recommendations for the diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and follow-up for patients with pancreatic cancer. Although survival rates remain relatively unchanged, newer modalities of treatment, including targeted therapies, provide hope for improving patient outcomes. Sections of the manuscript have been updated to be concordant with the most recent update to the guidelines. This manuscript focuses on the available systemic therapy approaches, specifically the treatment options for locally advanced and metastatic disease.

Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Version 1.2019.

The NCCN Guidelines for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma discuss the diagnosis and management of adenocarcinomas of the exocrine pancreas and are intended to assist with clinical decision-making. These NCCN Guidelines Insights discuss important updates to the 2019 version of the guidelines, focusing on postoperative adjuvant treatment of patients with pancreatic cancers.

Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, Version 2.2017, NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology.

Ductal adenocarcinoma and its variants account for most pancreatic malignancies. High-quality multiphase imaging can help to preoperatively distinguish between patients eligible for resection with curative intent and those with unresectable disease. Systemic therapy is used in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant pancreatic cancer setting, as well as in the management of locally advanced unresectable and metastatic disease. Clinical trials are critical for making progress in treatment of pancreatic cancer. The NCCN Guidelines for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma focus on diagnosis and treatment with systemic therapy, radiation therapy, and surgical resection.

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma, version 2.2014: featured updates to the NCCN guidelines.

The NCCN Guidelines for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma discuss the diagnosis and management of adenocarcinomas of the exocrine pancreas and are intended to assist with clinical decision-making. These NCCN Guidelines Insights summarize major discussion points from the 2014 NCCN Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Panel meeting. The panel discussion focused mainly on the management of borderline resectable and locally advanced disease. In particular, the panel discussed the definition of borderline resectable disease, role of neoadjuvant therapy in borderline disease, role of chemoradiation in locally advanced disease, and potential role of newer, more active chemotherapy regimens in both settings.

Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma, version 2.2012: featured updates to the NCCN Guidelines.

The NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma discuss the workup and management of tumors of the exocrine pancreas. These NCCN Guidelines Insights provide a summary and explanation of major changes to the 2012 NCCN Guidelines for Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. The panel made 3 significant updates to the guidelines: 1) more detail was added regarding multiphase CT techniques for diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer, and pancreas protocol MRI was added as an emerging alternative to CT; 2) the use of a fluoropyrimidine plus oxaliplatin (e.g., 5-FU/leucovorin/oxaliplatin or capecitabine/oxaliplatin) was added as an acceptable chemotherapy combination for patients with advanced or metastatic disease and good performance status as a category 2B recommendation; and 3) the panel developed new recommendations concerning surgical technique and pathologic analysis and reporting.

Pilot study of aprepitant for prevention of post-ERCP pancreatitis in high risk patients: a phase II randomized, double-blind placebo controlled trial.

CONTEXT: Animal studies have demonstrated a role for substance P binding to neurokinin-1 receptor in the pathogenesis of acute pancreatitis. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to assess the efficacy of a neurokinin-1 receptor antagonist (aprepitant) at preventing post-ERCP pancreatitis in high risk patients. DESIGN: Randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled trial at a single academic medical center. INTERVENTION: Patients at high risk for post-ERCP pancreatitis received either placebo or oral aprepitant administered 4 hours prior to ERCP, 80 mg 24 hours after the first dose, and then 80 mg 24 hours after the second dose. PATIENTS: Thirty-four patients received aprepitant and 39 patients received placebo. STATISTICS: Fisher's exact test was used to compare incidence of post-ERCP pancreatitis in the two groups. RESULTS: Baseline characteristics were similar between the two groups. Incidence of acute pancreatitis was 7 in the aprepitant group and 7 in the placebo group. Hospitalization within 7 days post-procedure for abdominal pain that did not meet criteria for acute pancreatitis occurred in 6 and 9 patients in the aprepitant and placebo groups respectively (P=0.772). CONCLUSIONS: Aprepitant did not lower incidence of post-ERCP pancreatitis in this preliminary human study. Larger studies potentially using the recently available intravenous formulation are necessary to conclusively clarify the efficacy of aprepitant in this setting.  

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration biopsy of the intrapancreatic accessory spleen: a report of 2 cases.

BACKGROUND: Intrapancreatic accessory spleen (IPAS) can pose a challenge in the diagnostic workup by mimicking a pancreatic neoplasm. Reports of IPAS identified by endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided fine needle aspiration (FNA) are scant in the literature, and increased recognition of this benign entity may reduce misdiagnosis and unnecessary surgical intervention. Here we report 2 cases of IPAS diagnosed by EUS-guided FNA biopsy. CASES: Each patient underwent computed tomographic evaluation for abdominal pain; it revealed a mass or thickening within the tail of the pancreas. Both patients were referred for EUS-guided FNA to further characterize their pancreatic lesions. In both cases, the cytomorphologic appearance of smears and cell blocks demonstrated aggregates of benign splenic tissue characteristic of both white and red pulp. Rare fragments of pancreatic acinar tissue were also identified. One cell block demonstrated benign splenic and pancreatic parenchyma immediately adjacent to one another without an apparent intervening capsule. CONCLUSION: IPAS can be diagnosed by FNA biopsy. Definitive tissue diagnosis in these 2 cases avoided not only unnecessary surgical intervention but also the need for consideration of a "watch and wait" strategy with further imaging and possible additional biopsy attempts.

Conversion Chemotherapy With a Modified FLOX Regimen for Borderline or Unresectable Liver Metastases From Colorectal Cancer: An Alternative for Limited-Resources Settings.

PURPOSE: Conversion chemotherapy is often used for borderline or unresectable (B/U) liver metastases from colorectal cancer (CRC) with the aim of achieving resectability. Although intensive and costly regimens are often used, the best regimen in this scenario remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the outcomes of patients with B/U liver metastases from CRC treated with conversion chemotherapy with the modified fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (mFLOX) regimen followed by metastasectomy. METHODS: We performed a single-center retrospective analysis of patients with B/U liver metastases from CRC treated with chemotherapy with the mFLOX regimen followed by surgery. B/U disease was defined as at least one of the following: more than four lesions, involvement of hepatic artery or portal vein, or involvement of biliary structure. RESULTS: Fifty-four consecutive patients who met our criteria for B/U liver metastases were evaluated. Thirty-five patients (64%) had more than four liver lesions, 16 (29%) had key vascular structure involvement, and 16 (29%) had biliary involvement. After chemotherapy, all patients had surgery and 42 (77%) had R0 resection. After a median follow-up of 37.2 months, median progression-free survival (PFS) was 16.9 months and median overall survival (OS) was 68.3 months. R1-R2 resections were associated with worse PFS and OS compared with R0 resection (PFS: hazard ratio, 2.65; P = .007; OS: hazard ratio, 2.90; P = .014). CONCLUSION: Treatment of B/U liver metastases from CRC with conversion chemotherapy using mFLOX regimen followed by surgical resection was associated with a high R0 resection rate and favorable survival outcomes. On the basis of our results, we consider mFLOX a low-cost option for conversion chemotherapy among other options that have been proposed.

Does ampullary adenoma size predict invasion on EUS? Does invasion on EUS predict presence of malignancy?

Background and study aims: It is common practice to perform ampullectomy without endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) for ampullary lesions < 1 cm but no data exists to support it. No studies have explored whether EUS findings of invasion correlate with malignancy or high-grade dysplasia (HGD) on pathology. We explored the association between adenoma size, pathology results, and invasion on EUS.  Patients and methods: This was a single-center retrospective cohort study at a large tertiary care academic hospital. Chart review was performed for 161 patients with benign ampullary lesions on endoscopic biopsy (identified by pathology records). The primary outcomes were mean size (mm) of adenomas and pathology findings with and without intraductal and/or duodenal wall invasion on EUS.  Results: Invasion was identified by EUS in 41 (34.1 %) of 120 patients who underwent EUS. The mean size of the lesion in these patients was 20.9 mm (±â€Š11.6 mm) compared to 13.9 mm (±â€Š11.3 mm, P = 0.0001) in patients without invasion. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC 0.73, 95 % CI 0.63 - 0.83) revealed 100 % sensitivity for absence of invasion on EUS in lesions less than 6.5 mm. Invasion on EUS had sensitivity of 63.0 % (95 % CI 47.0 % - 77.0 %) and specificity 88.0 % (95 % CI 78.0 % - 95.0 %) for presence of malignancy, HGD or invasion on pathology. Conclusions: EUS should be considered for ampullary lesions > 6.5 mm. This study provides evidence to support the practice of ampullectomy without EUS for smaller adenomas. EUS evidence of invasion is highly specific for pathologic malignancy, HGD, or invasion (which preclude endoscopic ampullectomy).

Therapeutic Endoscopic Ultrasound.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) technology has evolved dramatically over the past 20 years, from being a supplementary diagnostic aid available only in large medical centers to being a core diagnostic and therapeutic tool that is widely available. Although formal recommendations and practice guidelines have not been developed, there are considerable data supporting the use of EUS for its technical accuracy in diagnosing pancreaticobiliary and gastrointestinal pathology. Endosonography is now routine practice not only for pathologic diagnosis and tumor staging but also for drainage of cystic lesions and celiac plexus neurolysis. In this article, we cover the use of EUS in biliary and pancreatic intervention, ablative therapy, enterostomy, and vascular intervention.

Pleomorphic adenoma of the hard palate with calcifications: an unusual presentation / Adenoma pleomórfico del paladar duro con calcificaciones: una presentación inusual

Pleomorphic Adenoma (PA) is the most common benign salivary gland tumor. The most common sites for minor salivary gland from which PA arises are the palate followed by the lips and buccal mucosa. Calcifications are a common finding in major salivary glands with chronic inflammatory disorders. Major salivary gland tumors rarely show calcifications and it is less common to find them in minor salivary gland tumors. We report a case of pleomorphic adenoma of the hard palate in a 67-year-old female patient with intra-tumoral, irregular and scattered calcifications visible on computed tomography (CT). The treatment was complete surgical excision of the lesion. The diagnosis was confirmed with the histopathological study.

El adenoma pleomórfico (AP) es el tumor benigno de las glándulas salivales más común. Los sitios de mayor frecuencia donde surge el AP en glándulas salivales menores es el paladar seguido de los labios y la mucosa bucal. Las calcificaciones son un hallazgo común en las glándulas salivales mayores con trastornos inflamatorios crónicos, pero en el caso de tumores rara vez muestran calcificaciones y es menos común encontrarlos en tumores de las glándulas salivales menores. Presentamos un caso de adenoma pleomórfico del paladar duro en una paciente de 67 años con calcificaciones intratumorales, irregulares y dispersas visibles en la tomografía computarizada. El tratamiento fue la extirpación quirúrgica completa de la lesión. El diagnóstico se confirmó con el estudio histopatológico

Educación en salud para promover autocuidado en personas con Diabetes tipo 2 durante su hospitalización / Health education to promote self-care during hospitalization of patients with Type 2 Diabetes

Resumen Introducción: La Diabetes Tipo 2 es un problema de salud pública mundial, con una reincidencia de hospitalizaciones cada día más alta causada por la carencia de autocuidado, el cual puede promoverse a través de la educación en salud. Objetivo: Evaluar la capacidad de agencia de autocuidado en pacientes hospitalizados con Diabetes tipo 2 antes y después de una intervención de educación en salud. Materiales y métodos: Estudio prospectivo, cuasi experimental pre-test, post test con un solo grupo poblacional de 76 pacientes; se empleó la Escala de valoración de agencia de autocuidado (ASA) con un alfa de CronBach de 0,74 para la medición de autocuidado; se diseñó un video como intervención de educación en salud para promover el autocuidado. Resultados: Antes de la intervención, el 87,3% de la población de estudio presentó baja capacidad de agencia de autocuidado. Sin embargo, este porcentaje se redujo a 45,9% después de la intervención. Conclusiones: La educación en salud durante la hospitalización de pacientes con diabetes tipo 2, genera cambios positivos en su autocuidado, por cuanto incentiva estilos de vida saludables y estimula a los profesionales en salud a brindar un cuidado de estos pacientes con un enfoque en educación en salud.

Abstract Introduction: Type 2 Diabetes is a global public health problem that currently shows a high recurrence of hospitalizations due to a lack of self-care, which could be improved through health education. Objective: To assess the capacity of self-care agency in hospitalized patients with type 2 Diabetes before and after a health education intervention. Materials and methods: A prospective, quasi-experimental, pre-test/post-test study with a single population group of 76 patients. The Self-Care Agency Scale (SAS) was applied, using a CronBach alpha of 0.74 to measure self-care. A video was designed as the health education intervention to promote self-care. Results: Before the intervention, 87.3% of the study population showed a low capacity for self-care agency. However, this percentage decreased to 45.9% after the intervention. Conclusions: Health education during hospitalization of patients with Type 2 Diabetes triggers changes in their self-care capacity as it encourages healthy lifestyles and motivates health professionals to provide patient care with an increased focus on health education.

Outcome of endoscopic minor papillotomy in patients with symptomatic pancreas divisum.

CONTEXT: Pancreas divisum has been associated with recurrent acute pancreatitis, chronic abdominal pain without elevated pancreatic enzymes, and chronic pancreatitis. Prior studies suggest that endoscopic minor papillotomy benefits certain symptomatic pancreas divisum patients. However, the data are quite limited and there is a lack of long-term follow-up. OBJECTIVE: To describe a retrospective study of endoscopic minor papillotomy for pancreas divisum. PATIENTS: Eighty-nine adult patients who underwent endoscopic minor papillotomy at our referral center were included in the study. Median follow-up was 29 months. INTERVENTION: We conducted a telephone survey. Fifty-three patients were available for the telephone survey. RESULTS: Thirty-two patients (60.4%) reported immediate improvement: however, symptoms recurred in 17 (53.1% of the immediate responders). Repeat endoscopic interventions were performed in 8 patients, with long-term improvement in two. Overall long-term improvement was achieved in 17 patients (32.1%). Results of minor papillotomy were more favorable for patients with recurrent, well-defined bouts of pancreatitis (immediate improvement: P=0.036; long-term improvement: P=0.064) compared to those with pancreatitis who reported continuous pain and those without clinical evidence of pancreatitis (immediate improvement: 73.3%, 42.9% and 44.4%, respectively; long-term improvement: 43.3%, 21.4%, and 11.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The long-term benefit from endoscopic minor papillotomy using strict criteria is poorer than suggested from previous studies. However, pancreas divisum patients with well-defined bouts of pancreatitis are more likely to benefit from endoscopic minor papillotomy than those without symptom-free intervals between "attacks" and those with pain that is not associated with elevated pancreatic enzymes.