Published online Jun 21, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i23.7313
Peer-review started: January 29, 2015
First decision: March 10, 2015
Revised: April 12, 2015
Accepted: May 7, 2015
Article in press: May 7, 2015
Published online: June 21, 2015
Processing time: 142 Days and 2.3 Hours
AIM: To analyze the available evidence about the risk of extrapancreatic malignancies and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma associated to pancreatic intraductal papillary mucinous tumors (IPMNs).
METHODS: A systematic search of literature was undertaken using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane and Web-of-Science libraries. No limitations for year of publication were considered; preference was given to English papers. All references in selected articles were further screened for additional publications. Both clinical series and Literature reviews were selected. For all eligible studies, a standard data extraction form was filled in and the following data were extracted: study design, number of patients, prevalence of pancreatic cancer and extrapancreatic malignancies in IPMN patients and control groups, if available.
RESULTS: A total of 805 abstracts were selected and read; 25 articles were considered pertinent and 17 were chosen for the present systematic review. Eleven monocentric series, 1 multicentric series, 1 case-control study, 1 population-based study and 3 case report were included. A total of 2881 patients were globally analyzed as study group, and the incidence of pancreatic cancer and/or extrapancreatic malignancies ranged from 5% to 52%, with a mean of 28.71%. When a control group was analyzed (6 papers), the same incidence was as low as 9.4%.
CONCLUSION: The available Literature is unanimous in claiming IPMNs to be strongly associated with pancreatic and extrapancreatic malignancies. The consequences in IPMNs management are herein discussed.
Core tip: This paper enter a clinical debate which has real relevance in the daily practice in the field of pancreatic cystic neoplasm, as a number of asymptomatic intraductal papillary mucinous tumors (IPMNs) are diagnosed every day by abdominal imaging, and the actual most common clinical attitude provides for a weak diagnostic pathway. However, in the light of an unanimous literature, this attitude would be a while dangerous, as up to 30%-40% of IPMN cases would develop a second malignancy in their life. The same should be underlined when discussing the follow-up protocols.
