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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Endosc Int Open 2020; 08(08): E1039-E1041
DOI: 10.1055/a-1196-1343
Case report

Pancreatitis kills cysts: A phenomenon that illustrates the potential role of immune activation in premalignant cyst ablation

Leonard T. Walsh
1   Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center – Internal Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
,
Matthew T. Moyer
2   Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center – Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States
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Abstract

Background and study aims Pancreatic cystic lesions are being increasingly recognized on cross-sectional imaging and mucinous premalignant cysts represent one of the most prevalent types. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided chemoablation offers a safe and minimally invasive ablation approach yet with limited efficacy. Patients who develop acute pancreatitis as a complication of chemoablation with alcohol however experience ablation rates up to 100 %. This evidence suggests that recruitment of the body’s immune system may represent an avenue to significantly increase the efficacy of EUS-guided chemoablation. Here we illustrate this immune-mediated tumor killing phenomenon through a case presentation at our institution.



Publication History

Received: 19 September 2019

Accepted: 18 May 2020

Article published online:
21 July 2020

© 2020. Owner and Copyright ©

© Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Stuttgart · New York

 

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