title: Autoimmune pancreatitis: a surgical dilemma.
abstract: Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is defined as a particular form of pancreatitis that often manifests as obstructive jaundice associated with a pancreatic mass or an obstructive bile duct lesion, and that has an excellent response to corticosteroid treatment. The prevalence of AIP worldwide is unknown, and it is considered as a rare entity. The clinical and radiological presentation of AIP can mimic bilio-pancreatic cancer, presenting difficulties for diagnosis and obliging the surgeon to balance decision-making between the potential risk presented by the misdiagnosis of a deadly disease against the desire to avoid unnecessary major surgery for a disease that responds effectively to corticosteroid treatment. In this review we detail the current and critical points for the diagnosis, classification and treatment for AIP, with a special emphasis on surgical series and the methods to differentiate between this pathology and bilio-pancreatic cancer.
authors: Unidad de Cirugía Hepato-Bilio-Pancreática, Servicio de Cirugía General y Digestiva, Institut Clínic de Malalties Digestives i Metabòliques, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, España. Electronic address: dsaavedr@clinic.ub.es.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Saavedra-Perez
authors: Servicio de Gastroenterología, Institut Clínic de Malalties Digestives i Metabòliques, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, España.
authors: Eva C
authors: EC
authors: Vaquero
authors: Servicio de Radiodiagnóstico, Centre de Diagnòstic per la Imatge, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, España.
authors: Juan R
authors: JR
authors: Ayuso
authors: Unidad de Cirugía Hepato-Bilio-Pancreática, Servicio de Cirugía General y Digestiva, Institut Clínic de Malalties Digestives i Metabòliques, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, España.
authors: Laureano
authors: L
authors: Fernandez-Cruz
mesh_terms: D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D000066491:Clinical Decision-Making; D006801:Humans; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: Autoimmune pancreatitis; Chronic pancreatitis; Cáncer de páncreas; Ductocentric idiopathic pancreatitis; IgG4-related pancreatitis; Lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis; Pancreatic cancer; Pancreatic tumor; Pancreatitis; Pancreatitis asociada a IgG4; Pancreatitis autoinmune; Pancreatitis crónica; Pancreatitis esclerosante linfoplasmocitaria; Pancreatitis idiopática ductocéntrica; Tumor pancreático