title: Groove pancreatic carcinoma.
abstract: The groove area is localized between the head of the pancreas, the duodenum, and the common bile duct. Differentiating of groove pancreatitis from pancreatic carcinoma is often difficult. Herein, we report a 54-year-old woman with groove pancreatic adenocarcinoma presenting epigastralgia, jaundice, and vomiting. The diagnosis was confirmed by computed tomography (CT), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), and endoscopic biopsy. The patient underwent pancreatoduodenectomy. Microscopically, well-differentiated adenocarcinoma was mainly located in Santorini's duct, but there was no invasion to the main pancreatic duct. The patient followed a satisfactory post operative course. She is doing well without recurrence 15 months after the surgery. It is very difficult to differentiate groove pancreatic carcinoma from groove pancreatitis. To avoid unnecessary surgical treatment, endoscopic biopsy and observation of the duodenum are useful for diagnosis. However, keeping in mind the differential diagnosis of pancreatic head carcinoma is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery I, Oita Medical University, 1-1 Idaigaoka Hasama-machi, Oita 879-55, Japan.
authors.forename: Naotake
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Funamizu
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Aramaki
authors.forename: Toshifumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inomata
authors.forename: Kohei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shibata
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Himeno
authors.forename: Kazuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yada
authors.forename: Seitaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.forename: Katsunori
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: Seigo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kitano
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D050500:Pancreatitis, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis