A case of primary pancreatic non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Primary pancreatic lymphoma is rare, comprising 0.2-4.9% of all pancreatic malignancies and less than 1% of cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Many patients are diagnosed with lymphoma after radical resection. We report a rare presentation of diffuse large B cell lymphoma, appearing as a primary tumor of the pancreas. A 61-year old female was admitted to the hospital with the complaint of right upper abdominal pain. Computed tomography of the abdomen showed a well defined mass located at the head of the pancreas. A frozen section of pancreas, during laparotomy, revealed lymphoma. The patient received 6 cycles of chemotherapy and is currently in complete remission. This case underscores the importance of differentiating primary lymphoma from the more common adenocarcinoma of the pancreas as treatment and prognosis differ significantly. Primary pancreatic lymphoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic tumors and an attempt to obtain a tissue diagnosis is always necessary before proceeding to radical surgery, especially on young patients.
Lee
Myung-Kwon
MK
Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kyungpook National University School of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
Jeon
Seong-Woo
SW
Lee
Young-Doo
YD
Seo
Hyang-Eun
HE
Cho
Chang-Min
CM
Kim
Sang-Gul
SG
Yoon
Young-Kook
YK
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*