Chronic Pancreatitis and Tumor-forming Pancreatitis from the Standpoint of Expression of Digestive Cancer-associated Antigens

Yoshito Yamashita, Yong-Suk Chung, Yasuyuki Kondo, Kwang-Sa Kim, Akimasa Inui, Tetsuji Sawada, Bunzo Nakata, Hiroji Nishino, Masahiro Okuno, Michio Sowa

The First Department of Surgery, Osaka City University Medical School

Tumor-forming pancreatitis (TFP) was compared with chronic pancreatitis with respect to histological findings and the expression of tumor markers. In serological examinations, serum levels of type I carbohydrate antigens were prone to be high in chronic pancreatitis and TFP. The histological findings of TFP were almost the same as those of chronic pancreatitis. It is suggested that tumor-formation in TFP is due to a relatively wellmaintained lobular structure and intense interlobular fibrinization. In immunohistochemical studies, sialyl SSEA-1 (SLX) was not detected in normal pancreatitis. Carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) was expressed principally in the apical membrane of the intralobular pancreatic duct and SPan-l antigen was found in the centroacinar cells and the apical membrane of the pancreatic duct. Chronic pancreatitis showed no expression of SLX and the increase of CA 19-9 and SPan-l antigen expression. The expression of tumor markers in TFP was the same as that in chronic pancreatitis. It was suggested that TFP is belong to chronic pancreatitis but not an individual disease, and the reason for the high serum levels of tumor markers in chronic pancreatitis is the congestion of pancreatic juice with deviation to blood vessel.

Key words
tumor-forming pancreatitis, chronic pancreatitis, CA19-9, SPan-l antigen, sialyl SSEA-1

Reprint requests
Yoshito Yamashita First Department of Surgery, Osaka City University Medical School
1-5-7 Asahimachi, Abeno-ku, Osaka, 545 JAPAN

Accepted
January 12, 1994

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