Christodoulidis G, Kouliou MN, Koumarelas KE. Understanding autoimmune pancreatitis: Clinical features, management challenges, and association with malignancies. World J Gastroenterol 2024; 30(15): 2091-2095 [PMID: 38681985 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i15.2091]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Grigorios Christodoulidis, MD, PhD, Academic Editor, Department of General Surgery, University Hospital of Larissa, University of Thessaly, Biopolis Campus, Larissa 41110, Greece. gregsurg@yahoo.gr
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Grigorios Christodoulidis, Marina Nektaria Kouliou, Konstantinos Eleftherios Koumarelas, Department of General Surgery, University Hospital of Larissa, University of Thessaly, Larissa 41110, Greece
Author contributions: Christodoulidis G, Kouliou MN, and Koumarelas KE contributed to the discussion and design of the manuscript, the writing, editing the manuscript, and review of literature of this article; Christodoulidis G designed the overall concept and outline of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Grigorios Christodoulidis, MD, PhD, Academic Editor, Department of General Surgery, University Hospital of Larissa, University of Thessaly, Biopolis Campus, Larissa 41110, Greece. gregsurg@yahoo.gr
Received: January 5, 2024 Peer-review started: January 5, 2024 First decision: January 15, 2024 Revised: January 24, 2024 Accepted: March 28, 2024 Article in press: March 28, 2024 Published online: April 21, 2024 Processing time: 104 Days and 23 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a unique form of pancreatitis, categorized into AIP-1 and AIP-2, with distinct clinical characteristics and associations. AIP-1, linked to elevated immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) levels, exhibits higher relapse rates and predominantly affects older males, while AIP-2 is less common and associated with inflammatory bowel disease. Recognized as a manifestation of IgG4-related systemic disease, AIP poses an increased risk of malignancies, especially gastric, colorectal, and bladder cancers. Despite ongoing debates about the association with pancreatic cancer, careful diagnostic evaluation, including biopsy and response to steroids, is crucial for informed decision-making regarding surgery. AIP patients may have concurrent PanINs but generally experience better long-term outcomes compared to pancreatic cancer patients. Steroids remain the primary treatment, and emerging biomarkers like interferon alpha and interleukin-33 offer promising avenues for monitoring and managing AIP.
