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Biomedical subjects

Philippe Lévy

Publications and source records attributed to Philippe Lévy.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Natural history of intraductal papillary mucinous tumors of the pancreas: actuarial risk of malignancy.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Natural history of intraductal papillary mucinous tumors of the pancreas (IPMTs) is unknown. Cross-sectional studies suggest that exclusive branch duct (BD) involvement is associated with a lower risk of carcinoma than main pancreatic duct (MPD) involvement. The aim of our study was to calculate longitudinal risk of malignant transformation of IPMT since the first sign. METHODS: All the patients with a diagnosis of highly probable or histologically proven IPMT were included. Actuarial risks of occurrence of at least low-grade dysplasia (>or=LGD), high-grade dysplasia (>or=HGD), or invasive carcinoma (IC) were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method from the first sign attributable to IPMT. The risks according to sex, acute pancreatitis, tumor size, and involvement of MPD were compared by log-rank test. RESULTS: One hundred six patients were included with a proven (n = 76) or probable (n = 30) IPMT. The tumor was confined to BD in 53 cases. Median duration since the onset of the first sign to the end of follow-up was 21 months (range, 0-241). Ten-year actuarial risk that IPMT grade was >or=LGD, >or=HGD, or IC was 67%, 49%, and 29%, respectively. The only morphologic risk factor of malignant transformation was involvement of MPD, with a 5-year actuarial risk of >or=HGD of 63% in the MPD group compared with 15% in the BD group (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Longitudinal risk of at least HGD or IC is time-dependent. Patients with BD IPMT present a much lower risk, justifying a nonoperative surveillance.

Actuarial Analysis↗

Diagnostic criteria in predicting a biliary origin of acute pancreatitis in the era of endoscopic ultrasound: multicentre prospective evaluation of 213 patients.

BACKGROUND: No study on bioclinical criteria predicting a biliary origin for acute pancreatitis has included endosonography as a reference examination. Re-examination of bioclinical parameters deserves consideration in the era where other causes are known (e.g. hereditary, autoimmune). AIM AND METHODS: To determine the performance of bioclinical markers in predicting a biliary origin of acute pancreatitis where the diagnosis of biliary lithiasis was established or ruled out using endosonography. Only patients with a first acute episode of pancreatitis were included. RESULTS: 213 patients (male: 55%; median age: 56 years) were prospectively included in 14 centres. Causes of acute pancreatitis were: biliary (62%), alcoholic (25%), other (13%). Delay between symptom-onset and admission was <48 h in 80%. Endosonography was the sole method establishing the diagnosis of biliary pancreatitis in 15% of patients. At univariate analysis, age, female sex, declared alcohol consumption, elevated aspartate and alanine transaminases on admission, gammaglutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, lipase, mean corpuscular volume were predictive of a biliary origin. Only age (p < 0.0001), sex (p < 0.0008) and alanine transaminase (p < 0.0004) remained significant at multivariate analysis. At age 50, the respective sensitivity and specificity were 73 and 65%. With an elevated alanine transaminase at 2 times the upper limit of normal range, the respective sensitivity and specificity were 74 and 84%. The probability of a biliary origin of acute pancreatitis could be estimated by the following formula: = 1/1 + exp(4.6967 - 0.0656 x age + 1.1208 x sex - 0.6909 x alanine transaminase). CONCLUSION: When endosonography is performed to confirm or exclude a biliary origin of acute pancreatitis, age, sex and alanine transaminase at admission are the only factors predictive of a biliary cause.

Acute Disease↗

[Acute pancreatitis revealing Behçet disease].

We report here a case of acute pancreatitis revealing Behcet's disease in an 18-year-old woman. Pancreatitis was due to ischemia secondary to severe abnormalities of the celiac trunk arteries with pseudo-aneurysms. The outcome was favourable after the administration of corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide. The patient did not experience relapse of pancreatitis 2 years after diagnosis.

Acute Disease↗

[Pseudo Zollinger-Ellison syndrome in a patient with duodenal stenosis caused by tuberculosis].

We report the case of a 32-year-old Indian man with symptoms suggesting Zollinger-Ellison syndrome including abdominal pain, esaphagitis, duodenal stenosis that did not improve with antisecretory medication, elevated fasting gastrin serum levels that increased after intravenous secretin injections, elevated chromogranin A serum levels and tumoral aspect of pancreatic uncus on CT scan examination. A pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed. Histological examination of the resected specimen showed that there was no endocrine tumour of the pancreas or the duodenum, but identified marked lesions of follicular and caseous tuberculosis. The final diagnosis retained pseudo Zollinger-Ellison syndrome due to gastric outlet obstruction caused by duodenal stenosis of a tuberculosis origin.

Adult↗

Is idiopathic chronic pancreatitis an autoimmune disease?

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The proportion of patients with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP) that have an autoimmune origin is unknown. Three forms of ICP have been described: pseudotumoral, duct-destructive, and usual chronic pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to identify autoimmune stigmata in the 3 forms. METHODS: All patients who underwent exploration for ICP were included. The following data were recorded: examination by an internal medicine specialist, autoantibodies and immunoglobulin screening, and pancreatic duct imaging. RESULTS: Sixty patients were included (pseudotumoral, n = 11; duct-destructive, n = 27; usual, n = 22). There were no significant differences among the 3 types with regard to sex ratio, age, frequency of acute pancreatitis, or obstructive jaundice. Pancreatic calcifications were seen only in the usual form (81%; P = .0001). Autoimmune disease was present in 10 patients: ulcerative colitis in 5 patients, primary sclerosing cholangitis in 2 patients, and Sjögren's syndrome, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and Graves' disease in 1 patient each. Autoimmune diseases were not more frequent in patients with pseudotumoral (36%) or duct-destructive (19%) forms than in those with the usual form (5%, P = .06). Immunoglobulin G4 levels were increased in 2 of 6 in the pseudotumoral, 1 of 9 in the duct-destructive, and 0 of 12 patients in the usual group. Combining clinical and biochemical autoimmune parameters, 24 patients (40%) had at least 1 autoimmune marker or disease. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical or biochemical autoimmune stigmata are present in 40% of patients with ICP. Autoimmune mechanisms may be frequent in idiopathic pancreatitis.

Adolescent↗

Frozen sectioning of the pancreatic cut surface during resection of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas is useful and reliable: a prospective evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: To prospectively evaluate the accuracy of frozen sectioning (FS) of the pancreatic transection margin and its influence on surgery during resection of intraductal papillary and mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Preoperative assessment of IPMN extension is difficult and transection margin is frequently tumoral on the surgical specimen. PATIENTS AND METHODS: FS was performed in 127 patients who underwent partial pancreatectomy for IPMN from 1996 to 2004, corresponding to 90 pancreaticoduodenectomies (1-4 successive FS; total = 132), 25 distal pancreatectomies (1-2 FS; total = 27), and 12 medial pancreatectomies (2-4 FS; total = 29). Dysplasia was graded in both main (MD) and branch ducts (BD), and pancreatectomy was extended if FS revealed at least IPMN adenoma on the MD or borderline IPMN on BD (defined as "significant" lesions). RESULTS: The 188 FS revealed that MD and BD epithelium comprised significant noninvasive lesions in 49 and 13 cases, respectively, and infiltrating carcinoma in 4 other ones. Definitive examination corroborated FS in 176 of 188 cases (94%). Altogether, 54 of 188 (29%) FS comprised significant lesions that resulted in 46 additional resections in 38 patients (30%). Eight patients did not have additional resection because of either high operative risk or preoperative diagnosis of noncurable infiltrating carcinoma. The 134 FS without significant lesions were associated with 7 additional resections mainly because of macroscopic suspicion of another tumor location. Conflicting results between FS and definitive examination resulted in inadequate extent of pancreatectomy in 4 patients (3%). CONCLUSIONS: Results of FS of the transection margin are confirmed by definitive examination in 94% of cases. According to our protocol, FS changes the extent of resection in 30% of patients and allows adequate resection in 97% of patients.

Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous↗

Severe cholangitis following pancreaticoduodenectomy for pseudotumoral form of lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis.

Cholangitis associated with lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis may occur simultaneously or following diagnosis of pancreatitis. The natural history following inappropriate pancreatic surgery and treatment of cholangitis in this setting are ill-defined. Three patients underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy for pseudotumoral lymphoplasmacytic sclerosing pancreatitis. Jaundice or ascending cholangitis revealed severe biliary strictures at 1, 6, and 11 months, respectively, following surgery. Treatment combining corticosteroids with or without biliary stenting was efficacious in all patients. One patient with subsequent clinical and morphological relapse responded well to reintroduction of steroids. Biliary changes appeared to be immune-related based on pathological examination and response to corticosteroids.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Efficacy of lanreotide 30 mg on prevention of pain relapse after oral refeeding in patients with necrotizing acute pancreatitis. A phase II prospective multicentre study.

BACKGROUND: Pain relapse after oral refeeding occurs in 21% of the patients with acute pancreatitis, and in 35% of those with CT Balthazar's score > or =D [Gut 1997;40:262]. Somatostatin analogues may decrease the pain relapse rate by inhibiting exocrine pancreatic secretion. AIMS, PATIENTS AND METHODS: To assess the frequency of pain relapse in patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis after treatment with one intramuscular injection of lanreotide 30 mg on the day before refeeding. The refeeding procedure was standardized and progressive. RESULTS: 23 patients were included in 4 centres. Acute pancreatitis was alcoholic (n = 11), biliary (n = 7), other (n = 5). Twelve patients had > or =3 Ranson's criteria. Balthazar's score (1985) was D or E in 7 and 16 patients, respectively. Median duration of pain and of interruption of oral feeding were 11 (3-23) and 16 (5-34) days, respectively. Median hospital stay was 22 (9-41) days. Only 1 patient (4.3 %) had pain occurring 3 days after refeeding. CONCLUSION: Pain relapse occurred in 4.3% of patients pretreated with the somatostatin analogue lanreotide, and this figure is lower than the expected 35% rate which was previously reported without preventive treatment. This suggests that one intramuscular injection of lanreotide 30 mg on the day before refeeding could decrease pain relapse in patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis, but has to be confirmed in a phase III study.

Acute Disease↗

Macrocystic pancreatic cystadenoma: The role of EUS and cyst fluid analysis in distinguishing mucinous and serous lesions.

BACKGROUND: Benign pancreatic serous cystadenoma usually is morphologically distinguishable from mucinous cystadenomas, which require resection because of their malignant potential. A macrocystic variant of serous cystadenoma recently has been described, rendering this important distinction more difficult. The aim of this study was to determine the EUS and tumor marker characteristics of mucinous cystadenoma compared with macrocystic serous cystadenomas. METHODS: Medical records for consecutive patients seen between 1995 and 2002, with a histopathologic diagnosis of mucinous cystadenoma or macrocystic serous cystadenoma after surgery, who had undergone a detailed EUS examination, including EUS-guided FNA, were retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: A resection specimen was available for 32 mucinous cystadenomas and 9 macrocystic serous cystadenomas. No significant differences were observed with regard to clinical data (age, gender, presence of symptoms), lesion size, and location within the pancreas. All mucinous cystadenomas had a discernible cyst wall (thickened, 66%; focal parietal nodules, 25%) compared with 56% of macrocystic serous cystadenomas (p<0.0001). A thick echo content also was more frequent in mucinous cystadenoma (56% vs. 11%; p=0.04; statistical significance removed by the Bonferroni correction). Microcysts were only observed in macrocystic serous cystadenomas (44%; p=0.0008). The combination of a cyst wall that is thickened and the absence of microcysts had a sensitivity of 100% and specificity of 78% for the diagnosis of mucinous cystadenoma compared with macrocystic serous cystadenoma. Although intracystic carbohydrate-associated antigen 72-4 and mucins M1 were non-discriminatory, low carcinoembryonic antigen (<5 ng/mL) and carbohydrate-associated antigen 19-9 (<50,000 U/mL) values were found in macrocystic serous lesions (respectively, 100% and 100%; p=0.0002 and p=0.0002). CONCLUSIONS: Although there is considerable overlap, helpful EUS characteristics that differentiate mucinous cystadenoma from macrocystic serous cystadenoma include a thick cyst wall and microcysts. These features, coupled with analysis of aspirated fluid for tumor markers (especially carcinoembryonic antigen), should help to confirm the diagnosis.

Adolescent↗

Intraductal papillary mucinous tumors of the pancreas: the preoperative value of cytologic and histopathologic diagnosis.

BACKGROUND: The preoperative diagnosis of intraductal papillary mucinous tumors of the pancreas must be as certain as possible because removal of a large portion of the pancreas or even total pancreatectomy may be necessary. The value of cytologic and histopathologic analysis of specimens obtained by preoperative endoscopic investigations is unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the value of such analyses of specimens obtained by EUS-guided FNA and/or biopsy, or transpapillary biopsy specimens obtained during endoscopic retrograde pancreatography for the diagnosis of intraductal papillary mucinous tumors of the pancreas and for the detection of malignancy. METHODS: Between 1992 and 2001, 42 patients (22 men, 20 women; median age 64 years) underwent surgical resection for intraductal papillary mucinous tumors of the pancreas and had preoperative pancreatic tissue sampling. In the case of isolated dilatation of pancreatic ducts, pancreatic juice was obtained by EUS-guided FNA for cytologic analysis. In the presence of a solid lesion or main pancreatic duct stenosis, biopsy specimens were obtained by EUS-guided FNA biopsy or endoscopic retrograde pancreatography, which permitted histopathologic assessment. The accuracy of cytology and histopathology was evaluated for the following: (1) positive diagnosis of intraductal papillary mucinous tumors of the pancreas and (2) assessment of malignancy, by comparison with histopathologic examination of surgical resection specimens. RESULTS: Cytologic analysis was performed in 19 patients; it was positive in 4 (21%) and noninformative in 15 (79%). Histopathologic analysis was performed in 23 patients; it was positive in 21 (91%) and negative in 2 (9%). Histopathologic analysis yielded a positive result in 83% of patients who did not have extrusion of mucus from a patulous papilla. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of histopathologic analysis for the diagnosis of malignancy were, respectively, 44%, 100%, 100%, and 33%. When histopathologic analysis was positive, the tumor grade was similar to that determined by final histopathologic examination in 38% of patients, whereas the grade was underestimated in 62%. No complication occurred as a result of tissue sampling. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity of histopathologic analysis of EUS-guided FNA biopsy specimens or transpapillary biopsy specimens is 91% for the positive diagnosis of intraductal papillary mucinous tumors of the pancreas with a solid component, which is of particular interest as extrusion mucus from the papilla was absent in most patients. Histopathologic analysis of biopsy specimens of malignant intraductal papillary mucinous tumors of the pancreas often underestimates tumor grade. The result for cytologic analysis of juice obtained from dilated pancreatic ducts is disappointing.

Aged↗

[Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus].

We report the case of primary malignant melanoma of oesophagus in a 63-year-old man who presented with a 8-week history of dysphagia. Esophagoscopy demonstrated a polypoid mass expanding in the mid-oesophagus without causing obstruction. Based on histological and immunohistochemical studies, the diagnosis of primary esophageal malignant melanoma was made. Radical resection was not possible because of regional tumour extension at the time of diagnosis. The patient underwent percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy. Death occurred 4 months later because of acute respiratory failure.

Biopsy↗