Take Care of Your Pancreas!

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most dangerous kinds of oncological diseases. It is characterized by a very rapid clinical course and a very high death rate. Every year about 800 thousand new patients with this disease are diagnosed only in Europe.

The risk of occurrence of pancreatic cancer closely depends on the blood group. People with blood group O are less subject to this disease, than others, according to the recent study.

Authors of this research examined more than a 100,000 people suspected of pancreatic cancer. They analyzed the relation between the blood groups of patients and frequency of pancreatic cancer.

What was discovered is the significant increase of the risk of pancreatic cancer among patients with blood groups A and B in comparison with blood group O.

Among the examined people suspected of the disease about 20 patients with blood group O were ill with pancreatic cancer. More than 30 cases of blood group A were revealed during the study. About 40 patients suffering with pancreatic cancer had blood group AB. Patients with blood group B turned out to be the most subjected to the disease (almost 50).

Further investigation is necessary to support the findings and to understand the mechanism due to which ABO antigens (which presence define this or that blood group) can influence the risk of occurrence of pancreatic cancer.

Exploratory puncture under ultrasonic guidance is of extensive current use in the diagnosis of aseptic and septic pancreatonecrosis types at the early stage.

Our aim is to determine the role of ultrasonic tomography, including puncture biopsy of the pancreas under ultrasonic guidance, in the diagnosis and treatment of acute destructive pancreatitis.

We held one-day puncture biopsy examinations under ultrasonic guidance of 50 hospitalized patients suspected of destructive pancreatitis. The biopsy examination was multifocal: with the signs of the spare fluid the 4 spot intake was made from at least 2 parts of the pancreas and the omental bursa zone with the needle of the Chiba and Angiomed G 22-21 type. In order to intake cellular material from the pancreas zone without contamination by gastric flora, аn original method of step change of intaking multiplicity, duration and rate was applied.

The analysis for infection of the pancreas and parapancreatic structures disclosed negative results with 44 patients. The results of the microbiological investigation of 10 patients were positive. Bacterial flora was presented by conditionally pathogenic gram-negative enterobacteria (E.coli, K.pneumoniae, B.cepacia, P.mirabilis) in 60 per cent of cases. The cases of infection by gram-positive agents (S.epidermidis, S.saprophyticus) covered 40 per cent. Sensitivity of the method used attained 91,7 per cent, specificity – 86,5 per cent, accuracy – 89,4 per cent.

Thus, the microbiological and cytological analysis of the aspirate taken by fine-needle aspiration under ultrasonic guidance allowed to determine the state of the pancreas objectively, to specify the pathologic process and its evolution, to verify the mode of tissue involvement in case of pancreatonecrosis.