Organ affected: pancreas

Understanding IgG4-RD in the pancreas

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) can affect many parts of the body. In this chapter, we’ll focus on the pancreas—an organ that quietly helps you digest food and control blood sugar every day. When IgG4-RD involves the pancreas, it can cause a specific problem called autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP).

Pancreas symptoms can be very concerning—and sometimes quite severe—so the evaluation often moves quickly, especially when jaundice appears. This chapter will walk you through what might be happening, why autoimmune pancreatitis can be confusing at first, and the main clues your clinicians use to distinguish IgG4-RD from other look- alike problems, and how it is managed.

Autoimmune pancreatitis and its complications

In this short video clip, Dr. Saurabh Chawla, Professor of Medicine at Emory School of Medicine (Emory Clinic), explains the typical signs of autoimmune pancreatitis, especially painless jaundice, and why it ca n look like pancreatic cancer.

What you’ll learn in this chapter

This chapter follows a steady path: expert teaching first, then patient and clinician conversations, then common questions—so you can build confidence step by step.

Lesson 1: Experts explain (pancreas)

What the pancreas does, how IgG4-RD causes AIP, common symptoms (like jaundice and pain), and why it can look like cancer.

Lesson 2: Patient roundtable

Real experiences of living with pancreatic and bile-duct involvement.

Lesson 3: Clinician roundtable

How specialists work together to diagnose, treat, and monitor p ancreas disease.

Lesson 4: Common questions

Clear answers to the questions patients and caregivers ask most often.

Quiz: Test your knowledge – Chapter 5

A short knowledge check to reinforce the key takeaways.

As you move through the lessons, keep this simple idea in mind: early inflammation is often more reversible than later scarring. The sooner the pattern is recognized, the more options you usually have.