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Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Cancer pp 83–97Cite as

Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma

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Part of the book series: Cancer Dissemination Pathways ((CDP))

Abstract

Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a disease with a dismal prognosis. To improve patient outcome and plan the best treatment for each tumor, accurate staging is mandatory, especially to avoid inappropriate surgery. Knowledge of the preferential pathways of tumor spread for adenocarcinomas located in the different portions of the organ can significantly aid the radiologist in searching for signs, even subtle, of disease spread which might modify the therapeutic approach. Vascular invasion and other organ involvement are obviously related to tumor location. Also lymph node involvement, extrapancreatic nerve plexus infiltration and distribution of metastases in the liver show differences based on the site of the primary tumor, with different patterns for tumors located in the head or in the body–tail of the pancreas. In this chapter, we will review these pathways of tumoral spread and the concepts of unresectability, resectability, and the increasingly important concept of “borderline resectable pancreatic cancer.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UOC Radiologia BR, AOUI Verona, Verona, Italy

    Giulia Zamboni & Maria Chiara Ambrosetti

  2. Chirurgia generale e del pancreas, Istituto del Pancreas, AOUI Verona, Verona, Italy

    Laura Maggino & Giuseppe Malleo

Authors
  1. Giulia Zamboni
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  2. Maria Chiara Ambrosetti
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  3. Laura Maggino
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  4. Giuseppe Malleo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Giulia Zamboni .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Radiology Unit, University of Torino, Dept. of Surgical Sciences, Candiolo Cancer Center, Candiolo (Torino), Italy

    Daniele Regge

  2. Institute of Radiology, University Hospital GB Rossi, Verona, Italy

    Giulia Zamboni

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Zamboni, G., Ambrosetti, M.C., Maggino, L., Malleo, G. (2018). Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. In: Regge, D., Zamboni, G. (eds) Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Cancer. Cancer Dissemination Pathways. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50296-0_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50296-0_6

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-50294-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-50296-0

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