Guidelines for the management of patients with pancreatic cancer periampullary and ampullary carcinomas

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is an important health problem for which no simple screening test is available. The strongest aetiological association is with cigarette smoking, although at risk groups include patients with chronic pancreatitis, adult onset diabetes of less than two years’ duration, hereditary pancreatitis, familial pancreatic cancers, and certain familial cancer syndromes. Periampullary cancers are a feature of familial adenomatous polyposis.