Comparison Between the IAP and European Guidelines for the Management of Cystic Lesions of the Pancreas

Abstract

At the moment, the management of the cystic tumors of the pancreas is regulated by two major guidelines: the one adopted by the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) [1] and the European expert consensus statement (Euro) [2]. The IAP guidelines are created by the collaboration of 14 pancreatic experts in the field from mainly the USA and Japan even though one author is from South Korea and two authors are from Europe. This makes IAP rather broadly represented, however, with a clear weight toward general practice in the USA and Japan. The Euro guidelines are created by the European Study Group on Cystic Tumors of the Pancreas including about 40 European experts with one representative from the USA. Thus, these guidelines represent mostly the workup and therapeutic strategy of pancreatic cystic lesions conveyed in Europe.

A substantial premise for a guideline is to be widely applied and raise interest to be followed even by nonexpert centers before referral is needed. This is crucial for the equal patient accessibility and inclusion irrespective of where patients live. For preventive guidelines it is also of ultimate importance to aim to recruit all patients that might benefit from treatment.

In this chapter we will try to make an objective analysis of the similarities and differences between the IAP and Euro guidelines.