title: Minute carcinoma of the pancreas presenting as pancreatic pleural effusion.
abstract: A 70-year-old Japanese man with no history of pancreatitis visited his local practitioner, complaining of dyspnea on effort. Left massive pleural effusion was detected and he was then referred to our hospital. A plain chest film showed marked left pleural effusion. Thoracentesis yielded 2000 ml of bloody fluid with high amylase content (22,665 IU/l). Endoscopic retrograde pancreatography revealed a tapered occlusion of the main pancreatic duct. Pancreatic cancer was suspected, and a distal pancreatectomy and a splenectomy were performed. Histologically, the diagnosis was ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, 5 x 6 mm in size, with regional lymph node metastasis. He has experienced no recurrence of cancer or pleural effusion since the operation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Nanpuh Hospital, 14-3 Nagata-cho, Kagoshima 892-0854, Japan.
authors.forename: Shunji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shimaoka
authors.forename: Kotaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tashiro
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: Tatsuyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nioh
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Niihara
authors.forename: Hidehisa
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ohi
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamasuji
authors.forename: Yoshito
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishimata
authors.forename: Hiroto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishimata
authors.forename: Toyokuni
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suenaga
authors.forename: Yoriko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kajiya
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D010996:Pleural Effusion / Q000209:etiology*