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World J Gastroenterol. Dec 7, 2014; 20(45): 16881-16890
Published online Dec 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i45.16881
Autoimmune pancreatitis: Multimodality non-invasive imaging diagnosis
Stefano Crosara, Mirko D'Onofrio, Riccardo De Robertis, Emanuele Demozzi, Stefano Canestrini, Giulia Zamboni, Roberto Pozzi Mucelli
Stefano Crosara, Riccardo De Robertis, Emanuele Demozzi, Stefano Canestrini, Giulia Zamboni, Roberto Pozzi Mucelli, Mirko D’Onofrio, Department of Radiology, University Hospital GB Rossi, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy
Author contributions: All the authors equally contributed to this paper.
Correspondence to: Mirko D’Onofrio, MD, Assistant Professor, Department of Radiology, University Hospital GB Rossi, University of Verona, Piazzale LA Scuro 10, 37134 Verona, Italy. mirko.donofrio@univr.it
Telephone: +39-45-8124140 Fax: +39-45-8277808
Received: April 23, 2014
Revised: July 3, 2014
Accepted: September 12, 2014
Published online: December 7, 2014
Processing time: 225 Days and 11 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: In this paper we describe the features of autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) at ultrasonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance and positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging, focusing on diagnosis and differential diagnosis with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, which has a similar imaging appearance but a completely different therapeutic management. It is of utmost importance to make an early correct differential diagnosis between these two diseases in order to identify the optimal therapeutic strategy and to avoid unnecessary laparotomy or pancreatic resection in AIP patients. Non-invasive imaging plays also an important role in therapy monitoring, in follow-up and in early identification of disease recurrence.