Discerning pancreatic cancer from pancreatitis
Test shows patients with autoimmune pancreatitis more likely to have telltale antibody
By Nathan Seppa
A new test puts doctors one step closer to distinguishing between pancreatic cancer and a troublesome inflammation of the organ called autoimmune pancreatitis. Making that call can be difficult because in autoimmune pancreatitis, a lump of hardened tissue can form in the pancreas and is sometimes mistaken for a tumor.
Reporting in the November 26 New England Journal of Medicine, researchers in Italy show that patients who have been diagnosed with autoimmune pancreatitis are very likely to make antibodies that mistakenly attack a harmless enzyme found in the pancreas. In this disease, a person’s own immune troops target pancreatic tissue, causing inflammation and damaging this vital organ.
In contrast, these antibodies were absent in healthy people and rare in pancreatic cancer patients, says study coauthor Antonio Puccetti, a physician and immunologist at Giannina Gaslini Institute in Genoa.
Short of a biopsy, there is currently no single test that physicians can use to identify autoimmune pancreatitis and distinguish it from pancreatic cancer.