title: Primary pancreatic choriocarcinoma presenting as pancreatitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Pancreatic cancers can present with pancreatitis or its complications. Pancreatic choriocarcinoma is an extremely rare disease to involve pancreas.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 27-year-old married woman presented to our facility with abdominal pain and fullness of 20-day duration. She was clinically diagnosed as acute pancreatitis with pseudocyst as a complication. Serum amylase was elevated with CT scan of abdomen showing a cystic lesion involving the pancreas. We approached the cyst with endoscopic ultrasonography and cyst fluid was aspirated and analyzed. Cyst fluid amylase was elevated and cytology revealed germ cell tumor. Serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin was elevated. She had a swelling over the jaw which also revealed choriocarcinoma in histopathological examination. Patient was started with chemotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We report this case of pancreatic choriocarcinoma due to its extreme rarity and the diagnostic dilemma it posed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Gastroenterology, Madras Medical College, Chennai, India. rbiggs21@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Biggs Saravanan
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Ramachandran
authors.forename: Malarvizhi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Murugesan
authors.forename: Mohammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ali
authors.forename: Purushotaman
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Padmanabhan
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D002822:Choriocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D019160:Endosonography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed