The Relationship Between Pancreatic Cancer and Acute Pancreatitis

Pancreatic cancer is a uncommon cause of acute pancreatitis. Up to 14% of patients with pancreatic cancer may initially present with acute pancreatitis, which proceed their cancer diagnosis by several months. These patients may harbor underlying pancreatic cancer at the time of their initial presentations before any visible mass on imaging. As such, upfront endoscopic guide sampling may be considered for earlier pancreatic cancer detection.