Long-term outcomes of autoimmune pancreatitis

Autoimmune pancreatitis(AIP) has been considered a favorable-prognosis disease; however,currently,there is limited information on natural course of AIP during long-term follow-up. Recently published studies regarding the long-term outcomes of AIP has demonstrated the developments of pancreatic stone formation,exocrine insufficiency,and endocrine insufficiency are observed in 5%-41%,34%-82%,and 38%-57% of patients having the disease. Furthermore,the incidence rate of developing pancreatic cancer ranges from 0% to 4.8% during the long-term followup. The event of death from AIP-related complications other than accompanying cancer is likely to be rare. During follow-up of AIP patients,careful surveillance for not only relapse of the disease but also development of complications at regular intervals is needed.