Cochrane

Background The pancreas is an organ in the abdomen that secretes pancreatic juice that aids digestion; and it contains cells that produce important hormones such as insulin. Partial removal of the pancreas (pancreatic resection) is performed to remove cancerous and non-cancerous growths in the pancreas. During this process, new connections (anastomoses) ...

Review question How well do different scans identify whether pancreatic and periampullary cancer is resectable (can be surgically removed) in patients with pancreatic cancer in whom computed tomography (CT) scan suggests that the cancer can be removed? CT scan involves a series of X-rays which are combined by a computer to provide detailed images ...

Background The pancreas is an organ situated in the abdomen close to the junction of the stomach and small bowel. It secretes digestive juices which are necessary for the digestion of all food materials. The digestive juices secreted in the pancreas drain into the upper part of the small bowel via the pancreatic duct. The bile duct is a tube which ...

The issue When women go to their doctor with a mass that could be ovarian cancer, they are normally referred for surgery, since the mass may need to be removed and examined microscopically in a laboratory in a procedure known as paraffin section histopathology. A third of women with ovarian cancer present with a cyst or mass without any visible evidence ...

Background After surgery for cancer in the colon or rectum (colorectal cancer), most people are intensively followed up for at least five years to monitor for signs of the cancer returning. When this occurs, it usually causes a rise in a blood protein called CEA (carcino-embryonic antigen). An increased level of CEA can be picked up by a blood test, ...

Background and rationale Neuroblastoma is a childhood tumour that can be visualized by a specific nuclear imaging compound, called metaiodobenzylguanidine (¹²³I -MIBG). ¹²³I-MIBG-imaging is not only important for the diagnosis of neuroblastoma, but also for localization of metastases (spread of the disease to other organs). Sometimes, the neuroblastoma ...

Review question The current method of diagnosing cancer of the mouth or lips involves the surgical removal of a piece of affected tissue that is sent to a laboratory for histological examination using a microscope (scalpel biopsy). This is painful for patients and involves a delay. The aim of this review was to find out the accuracy of three alternative ...

Review question There is much debate on the diagnostic performance of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in the preoperative staging of gastric cancer. The aim of this review was to collect the available evidence and then to calculate how well EUS stages stomach cancer. Background EUS is a diagnostic test that can be used to determine how far (stage) cancer ...

In the absence of distant metastasis, treatment options for non-small cell lung cancer depend on how much the disease has spread to the different lymph nodes within the chest, that is, the stage of the disease. If the cancer has not spread beyond the nearest (N1) lymph nodes, surgery is often the treatment of choice. Other treatment options for these ...

The issue Women with vulval cancer that has spread to the groin lymph nodes need additional treatment. The standard treatment usually involves surgical removal of as many groin nodes as possible (known as complete inguinofemoral lymphadenectomy (IFL)). However, only about 30% of women with vulval cancer in whom lymph nodes are not obviously enlarged ...