A Case of Peritonitis Due to Hollow Organ Perforation in a Patient with Unresectable Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma Discovered Incidentally during Surgery

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer represents a significant challenge in digestive oncology, a cancer with a poor prognosis, with an increasing incidence (Kpossou et al., 2021), without clearly identified risk factors allowing screening or diagnosis at an early stage. Surgery remains the only curative treatment today, but is only possible for 15% of patients. For other cases, chemotherapy is currently attempting to prolong survival. Progress in understanding pancreatic carcinogenesis remains insufficient. The study of tumor and circulating molecular markers (Christenson et al., 2020) aims to identify targets for diagnosis and treatment as early as possible in order to extend survival.Carcinomatous peritonitis is a rare complication of pancreatic adenocarcinoma, in which cancer cells spread to the membrane lining the abdomen, the peritoneum, causing inflammation and fluid accumulation (ascites).This spread can occur directly (invasion of the peritoneum by the primary tumor) or via hematogenous (spread via the blood) or lymphatic routes.The presence of carcinomatous peritonitis suggests an advanced stage of the disease and a less favorable prognosis, which is what we will highlight in this article.