The Laboratory Diagnosis of Pancreatic Disease

Symptoms of pancreatic insufficiency usually become manifest only when 90% or more of the glandular function is lost. However, when pancreatic disorders occur, they can be extremely serious with pancreatic cancer and acute pancreatitis having a high mortality and with chronic pancreatitis causing much suffering and morbidity. The financial cost for pancreatic disease has been estimated to be almost 10% of the total cost of diagnosing and treating common digestive diseases (Lowenfels et al., Curr Gastroenterol Rep 7:90–95, 2005). Thus, understanding the laboratory workup of pancreatic disorders is important.