Focal Chronic Pancreatitis Mimicking Early Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Report of Case
Ryota Iwase*, Hiroaki Shiba, Takeshi Gocho, Yasuro Futagawa, Takeyuki Misawa, Katsuhiko Yanaga
Department of Surgery, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
*Corresponding author: Ryota Iwase, Department of Surgery, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8, Nishi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-8461, Japan. Tel: +81334331111 Ext. 3401, Fax: +81354724140 Email: ryotaiwa@jikei.ac.jp
Received Date: 14 May, 2018; Accepted Date: 19 May, 2018; Published Date: 26 May, 2018
Citation: Iwase R, Shiba H, Gocho T, Futagawa Y, Misawa T, et al. (2018) Focal Chronic Pancreatitis Mimicking Early Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma: A Report of Case. Arch Surg Case Rep: ASCR-102. DOI: 10.29011/ASCR-102/100002
1. Abstract
The
differential diagnosis between an early stage pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
and a focal chronic pancreatitis is difficult. We herein report a case with
distal pancreatectomy for a focal chronic pancreatitis mimicking an early
pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. A 43-year-old man was admitted to our
hospital for treatment of a pancreatic tumor detected by Ultrasonography (US)
of medical check-up. Enhanced computed tomography revealed 10mm of low-density
area with no enhancement in pancreatic body. Magnetic resonance imaging
demonstrated stenosis of main pancreatic duct and dilatation of the distal
duct, while, no tumor could be detected by fat-suppressed T1-weighted images
and diffusion-weighted images. US demonstrated a hypoechoic and avascular area
with a diameter of 8 mm. Endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography
revealed stenosis of main pancreatic duct and dilatation of the distal duct. With
a diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic body, the
patient underwent distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy with regional lymph
node dissection. Histological examination revealed focal chronic inflammation
of the pancreas.
1. Introduction
Recent
advances in diagnostic techniques including Ultrasonography (US), Endoscopic
Ultrasonography (EUS), Computed Tomography (CT), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI), pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma has been diagnosed easier [1]. However, the differential diagnosis between an
early stage pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and a focal chronic pancreatitis
is still difficult [1-3]. A recent report
indicated that the false positive rate of pancreaticoduodenectomy for presumed
malignancy to be as high as 5-11% [4]. We herein
report a case with distal pancreatectomy for a focal chronic pancreatitis
mimicking an early pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
2. Case Report
A
43-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for treatment of a pancreatic
tumor detected by US on medical check-up. The patient had no past history of
serious illnesses, including any pancreatic diseases, diabetes mellitus,
operations, or any hospitalization. Enhanced CT revealed a low-density mass of
10 mm in diameter with no enhancement in the pancreatic body (Figures 1a-c). MRI demonstrated stenosis of the main
pancreatic duct and dilatation of the distal pancreatic duct (Figure 2a), while, no tumor could be detected by Fat-suppressed
T1-weighted Images (FST1WI) and Diffusion-weighted Images (DWI) (Figures 2b,c). US revealed a hypoechoic and avascular area
with a diameter of 8 mm (Figures 3a,b). However,
EUS did not detect the tumor of the pancreas. Endoscopic retrograde
cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) revealed stenosis of main the pancreatic duct
and dilatation of the distal duct (Figure 3c). Laboratory
investigations included serum pancreatic amylase of 61 IU/L, serum carcinoembryonic
antigen of 5.5 ng/ml, serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 of 12 U/ml, and serum
DUPAN-2 of 25 U/ml. With a diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma of the
pancreatic body, the patient underwent distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy
with regional lymph node dissection. Histological examination revealed chronic
inflammation of the pancreas which formed a fibrotic nodule with a diameter of
11 mm×10 mm. The fibrotic nodule included granulation, fat necrosis, and
chronic inflammatory change of the main pancreatic duct which caused the
stenosis. Because postoperative pancreatic fistula was developed, the patient
underwent US-guided percutaneous drainage. The patient made satisfactory
recovered after drainage, discharged on the 39th postoperative day, and remains well.
3. Discussion
Focal
pancreatitis is defined as a focal inflammatory process in the pancreas that
may mimic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma [5,6].
The differential diagnosis between early pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and
focal pancreatitis is one of the important points for better therapeutic
outcome of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Enhanced CT indicates high
sensitivity for the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma and is useful for
differential diagnosis between early pancreatic carcinoma and focal chronic
pancreatitis [1,7]. Because pancreatic carcinoma
is characterized by abundant fibrous stroma and hypovascularity, typical
features of pancreatic cancer by enhanced CT include poor enhancement of the
tumor compared with surrounding normal pancreatic tissue in the early phase and
gradual enhancement in delay phase [1]. In small
lesion, delayed enhancement of pancreatic adenocarcinoma is predominantly
observed [8]. In dynamic CT, pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma
shows increasing enhancement value, while chronic pancreatitis demonstrates
delayed-washout pattern [9]. Recent reports
indicate that apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of MRI quantification of the
pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma is significantly lower than that of
pancreatitis [2,10]. In addition, DWI and FST1WI
are useful for detecting small (£2cm in diameter) pancreatic ductal
adenocarcinoma, which cannot be detected by dynamic CT [11,12].
In present case, focal pancreatitis lesion was detected by US and enhanced CT. However,
EUS, MRI including FST1WI and DWI could not detect pancreatic tumor. These
negative findings may be clue for correct diagnosis in our patient.
Figures 1(a-c): Enhanced (a, b) and plane (c) computed tomography (CT) revealed a low-density area of 10 mm in
diameter. No enhancement was seen in the early (a) or delayed (b) phase
of enhanced CT.
Figures 2(a-c): Magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI) (a) demonstrated
stenosis of the main pancreatic duct (arrowhead) and dilatation of the distal
duct. No tumor could be detected in the pancreas by fat-suppressed T1-weighted
images (FST1WI) (b) and
diffusion-weighted images (DWI) (c).
Figures 3(a-c): US (a) and endoscopic ultrasonography (b) demonstrated a hypoechoic and
avascular area with a diameter of 8 mm (arrowheads). Endoscopic retrograde
cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) (c)
revealed stenosis of the main pancreatic duct with distal dilatation
(arrowhead).
7.
Onda S, Kanehira M, Fujioka S, Okamoto T, Yanaga K (2011)
Contrast-enhanced CT findings were useful for diagnosis of three cases of stage
I pancreatic cancer. J Jpn Surg Assoc 72: 2919-2925.