Operative and endoscopic pancreatography in the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

X-rays of the pancreatic duct can now be obtained by a nonoperative endoscopic approach (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography-ERCP). After more than 2 years experience we have found that the pancreatic duct can be visualized in 85 to 90% of patients. This test is used to detect pancreatic carcinoma in the symptomatic patient and in searching for an operative pancreatic lesion in a patient with known recurrent or chronic pancreatitis. Many of these patients have pain or a transiently elevated amylase; a few have steatorrhea or abnormalities of the duodenal sweep on barium meal. Stenosis or obstruction of the main pancreatic duct with or without proximal duct dilation are the characteristic abnormalities noted in pancreatic carcinoma. A rare pancreatic tumor which is not in juxtaposition with the duct will have a normal pancreatogram although the common duct may be obstructed by cholangiography as it passes through the head of the pancreas. In patients with chronic pancreatitis it may be difficult to differentiate an inflammatory from a neoplastic stricture by either operative or endoscopic pancreatography. In the future, cytologic and biochemical examination of the pancreatic secretions obtained at ERCP may increase the accuracy of diagnosing carcinoma.