Published online Sep 14, 2016. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v22.i34.7760
Peer-review started: March 31, 2016
First decision: May 12, 2016
Revised: June 4, 2016
Accepted: June 28, 2016
Article in press: June 29, 2016
Published online: September 14, 2016
Processing time: 163 Days and 19.2 Hours
Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) has been considered a favorable-prognosis disease; however, currently, there is limited information on natural course of AIP during long-term follow-up. Recently published studies regarding the long-term outcomes of AIP has demonstrated the developments of pancreatic stone formation, exocrine insufficiency, and endocrine insufficiency are observed in 5%-41%, 34%-82%, and 38%-57% of patients having the disease. Furthermore, the incidence rate of developing pancreatic cancer ranges from 0% to 4.8% during the long-term follow-up. The event of death from AIP-related complications other than accompanying cancer is likely to be rare. During follow-up of AIP patients, careful surveillance for not only relapse of the disease but also development of complications at regular intervals is needed.
Core tip: There is limited information on long-term outcomes of patients with autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP). This review provides a current overview of AIP regarding long-term outcomes such as pancreatic stone formation, pancreatic exocrine or endocrine dysfunction, associated malignancy, and mortality.