Small carcinomas of the pancreas with associated chronic pancreatitis: two case reports

Two cases of pancreatitis associated with papillary atypical hyperplastic lesions and micro-invasive cancers are reported. They are interesting from an etiopathogenic and diagnostic point of view by again illustrating the problem of transmission between hyperplastic lesions and cancer, together with the difficulties encountered in asserting the certainty of diagnosis. In each observation the association of pancreatic lesions, of all stages of hyperplasia, and of cancer can be observed. This suggests that transmission occurs between those different lesions. In such cases diagnosis of benignity or malignancy is always difficult to assert. No clinical, biological, morphological or even cytological criterion allows one to make a ruling. For this reason excision is recommended by the authors whenever the etiology of pancreatitis remains obscure and especially in the presence of important dystrophic lesions.