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Primary pancreatic lymphoma is a rare neoplasm that reportedly regresses promptly with aggressive chemotherapy. Recently, the role of surgical management has been relegated to biopsy alone. The aim of this study was to review our experience with primary pancreatic lymphoma and to determine the outcome of patients managed by radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy. From 1952 to 1991, 107 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma involving the pancreas were identified. Twelve patients (11%) had primary pancreatic lymphoma. The presenting symptoms and signs were nonspecific: abdominal pain (83%), weight loss (50%), and a palpable mass (58%). Six of the 12 patients (50%) undergoing celiotomy had a preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma. These lymphomas were large (x = 8 +/- 2 cm) and deemed unresectable because of size, alleged mesenteric vessel encroachment, regional lymph node metastasis, or because of an intraoperative diagnosis of lymphoma. Biopsy alone was performed in 50% of patients and biliary bypass and/or gastroenterostomy was performed in 25% of patients. A single resection (pancreatoduodenectomy) was performed 1 year after a full course of chemotherapy had failed. Ten patients, all of whom died of progressive lymphoma, received primary postoperative radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy, and no patient was disease-free at follow-up. Mean survival was 13 months for patients who received chemotherapy alone (n = 2), 22 months for those treated with radiation therapy only (n = 5), and 26 months for those receiving combined radiation therapy and chemotherapy (n = 3).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Occasionally pancreatoduodenectomy is performed for clinically suspected pancreatic malignancy only for the surgeon to find that a benign aetiology accounts for the pancreatic mass. The aim of this study was twofold: to determine the incidence of pancreatoduodenectomy performed for a misdiagnosis of pancreatoduodenal malignancy and to identify potentially avoidable errors in preoperative and intraoperative judgement. Between 1956 and 1990, radical pancreatoduodenectomy was performed in 603 patients at the Mayo Clinic; 29 (5 per cent) underwent pancreatoduodenectomy for a diagnosis made before and during surgery of primary pancreatic or periampullary malignancy that was later proven histopathologically to be either unsuspected subacute or chronic pancreatitis (22 patients), benign fibrous common bile duct stricture (two), and penetrating duodenal ulcer, metastatic melanoma, ampullary adenoma, intrahepatic drug-induced cholestasis and pseudocyst (one each). No patient had a preoperative diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. Weight loss, pain and/or jaundice were present in 27 of the 29 patients. Objective imaging tests, such as computed tomography, ultrasonography and/or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, were performed in 25 patients. Potential errors in judgement may be avoided by a more aggressive attempt at biopsy in selected patients; in others, resection for presumed malignancy may be unavoidable.

When should total pancreatectomy be utilized in the treatment of adenocarcinoma of the pancreas? The rationale for total pancreatectomy comes from a tendency for pancreatic cancer to be multicentric (approximately 30% of patients), the absence of a pancreaticoenterostomy and its attendant morbidity, and the argument that total pancreatectomy is a better cancer procedure (more complete lymphadenectomy, wider soft tissue resection). In spite of these theoretical advantages, any impact on morbidity, mortality, or ultimately on survival has not been realized. Indeed, with the current operative mortality of pancreatic remnant-preserving resections being less than 5%, with the realization of the metabolic consequences of total pancreatectomy, and with the introduction of adjuvant chemo-radiation therapy, extended lymphadenectomy, and the concept of regional pancreatectomy, justification for total pancreatectomy for cancer of the head of the pancreas is questionable. The current data suggest that total pancreatectomy should be used only in selected individuals.