Sustained recovery from a solid type pancreatic ductal carcinoma originating in the pancreas tail: a case report

A case of sustained recovery from a solid type pancreatic ductal carcinoma originating in the pancreas tail is presented. To discover the reasons why the patient has experienced more than five years of sustained recovery, we reviewed the history of this case. The original condition was found incidentally at endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP) under an asymptomatic state originating from pancreatic disorders. As a result, two non-extensive operations were performed. Histologically, the carcinoma was limited to within the pancreas. This case report therefore indicates that even if the lesion is a carcinoma of the body and/or tail of the pancreas, early diagnosis in patients with ductal adenocarcinoma appears to lead to an improvement in the prognosis. Also, this case report suggests that ERP is one of the most effective techniques for the detection of an early carcinoma.