title: Primary pancreatic lymphoma: a case report, literature review, and proposal for nomenclature.
abstract: Primary neoplasms of the pancreas are most often adenocarcinoma. Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) involving the pancreas is less common but well documented; the pancreas as the primary site of NHL is rare. The majority of patients with pancreatic cancer, whether it is adenocarcinoma or lymphoma, present with a mass in the head of the gland. Pancreatic lymphoma is often described as a large homogeneous mass with extra-pancreatic extension, with or without associated lymphadenopathy. Less common presentations are masses in the body or tail, or more rarely diffuse involvement of the pancreas. We present a case of diffuse pancreatic lymphoma with extra-pancreatic dissemination to the spleen and lymph nodes, and review the literature on pancreatic lymphoma. Because the definition of pancreatic lymphoma and primary pancreatic lymphoma varies, we also propose a nomenclature system to make future studies of pancreatic lymphoma more comparable.
authors.affiliation: Division of Hematology/Oncology, Phoenix VA Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ 85012, USA.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Salvatore
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kummet
mesh_terms: D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D013160:Splenic Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed