A trial of gemcitabine versus pancreatic enzymes for the treatment of pancreatic cancer reported an average survival time of 14 months for the chemotherapy group and 4.3 months for the enzyme group. Due to extensive missing information, readers of the paper reporting the trial would conclude that the study was valid. When this missing information is made available, as it is in the present repor...

The uptake of (75)Se Selenomethionine by the pancreas has been evaluated in 102 patients and compared with the secretin-pancreozymin test of pancreatic function. In groups of patients with chronic pancreatitis and cancer of the pancreas abnormal scans closely parallel the diminished exocrine secretion, especially bicarbonate output, following a submaximal dose of secretin. Thirty per cent of th...

work on the subject. Glycosuria is essentially a chemical problem and should primarily be attached from a chemical point of view. The book begins with a discussion of the properties and pli3'siology of the carbohydrates, and methods for their detection are full}7 described. Experimental glycosuria is well dealt with and the author believes that the pancreas is concerned with the metabolism of s...

Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) is the rate limiting enzyme in the formation of prostaglandins and probably plays a key part in the pathology of various inflammatory diseases. In acute pancreatitis, the catalytic activity of PLA2 in serum correlates with the severity of the disease. The cellular source of the catalytically active PLA2 in serum of patients suffering from acute pancreatitis and other dis...

Graded doses of 0-1, 0-3, 0-9, and 2-7 clinical units/kg/h of pure synthetic secretin were infused over 60 minute periods in six healthy volunteers. Duodenal bicarbonate output and pH were recorded and plasma secretin and motilin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay. During the infusions plasma motilin fell in a dose dependent manner to a nadir of 35%. This fall was linearly correlated with...

A solid pseudopapillary tumour of the pancreas (SPT) is a rare neoplasm accounting for less than 2% of exocrine pancreatic neoplasms. SPT occurs in adolescent young females and is mostly benign. It is a low-grade malignant tumour that may evolve years before symptoms start and has a favourable prognosis. In this report we present five cases (four females, one male, aged 16, 45, 23, 17 and 55 ye...

Solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm (SPENP) of the pancreas is a rare pancreatic tumour of low malignant potential, that is seen mostly in young females. The aetiology and pathogenesis is unclear but it is considered to be arising from primordial pancreatic cells. We report two cases of SPENP who had palpable abdominal lumps and were diagnosed on histopathology. In the first case, the tumou...

Background. Indicators of operative outcomes could be used to identify underperforming surgeons for support and training. The feasibility of identifying HPB surgeons with poor operative performance ("outliers") based on the results of pancreatic resections is not known. Methods. A systematic review of Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane library was performed to identify studies on pancreatic rese...