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This erratum corrects ''Predictors of malignancy in pancreatic head mass: a prospective study'' The Pan African Medical Journal. 2011;9:30.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of the study was to identify the predictive factors for malignancy in pancreatic head mass as a primary outcome and assess the value of CA 19-9 as a diagnostic tool for malignancy as a secondary outcome.

Prognosis of pancreatic carcinoma remains poor, with one-year and five-year overall survival rates of 20 and 5% respectively. Only 5 to 15% of patients present with tumors amenable to resection. Long-term (5 years) survival after curative resection is less than 20%, and the median survival is about 12 months. This paper updates recent trends about concomitant chemoradiation. At first, a review of the studies on adjuvant chemoradiation after surgery is proposed. Then, indications of preoperative chemoradiation for patients with localized resectable adenocarcinoma are discussed. The last part concerns the most important and recent studies about chemoradiation in locally advanced pancreatic cancer, either with 5-fluoro-uracile or based on new drugs like gemcitabine. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The prognosis of resected pancreatic cancer (PC) remains poor with an overall five-year survival rate of 4%. Most patients die of recurrences within two years after surgical resection. The place of postoperative chemoradiotherapy is no more established. Randomized trials failed to demonstrate a significant benefit for survival with a relatively heavy treatment. But none of the chemoradiotherapy regimen used was optimal. Chemotherapy improves quality of life and survival in advanced or metastatic PC. The place of chemotherapy is now established in adjuvant treatment after surgical resection of PC. The ESPAC1 trial demonstrated a significant benefit for overall survival for the group who received postoperative chemotherapy (5FU-FA). A German trial reported this year at ASCO demonstrated a very significant benefit in term of disease-free survival in favour of Gemcitabine monotherapy used as adjuvant treatment. New protocols using chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy regimens, however, are necessary to improve resected PC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]