[Percutaneous ethanol injection for unresectable pancreatic cancer-report of two cases]

Two cases of unresectable pancreatic cancer underwent percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI). The first was a 65-year-old man with a 43 x 39 mm mass in the head of the pancreas. He received PEI (total 38.5 ml of ethanol) 6 times. Serum CA19-9 decreased from 3,800 U/ml to 1,700 U/ml. The patient was dead 6 months after PEI. Autopsy revealed coagulative necrosis at the site of ethanol injection. The second case was a 66-year-old man with a 70 x 50 mm mass in the body of the pancreas. He was treated by PEI (total 10 ml). After PEI, his abdominal pain was relieved considerably. He died 4 months after PEI treatment. These findings suggest that PEI may be useful not only for pain control but also for tumor reduction of unresectable pancreatic cancer.