title: Misdiagnosed gastrinoma: A case report.
abstract: Gastrinoma is most commonly located in the gastrinoma triangle (comprising of the duodenum, pancreas and bile ducts) or in the adjacent lymph nodes. Due to the low mortality rate, it is often misdiagnosed as other diseases with similar clinical characteristics, such as a solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas (SPTP). Therefore, the current study reports a rare case of gastrinoma located in the tail of the pancreas of a female patient under medical examination, who exhibited no clinical symptoms. The tumor, which was located in the body and tail of the pancreas, was successfully resected and the spleen was preserved. The outcome of surgery combined with the postoperative pathological examination resulted in the patient being misdiagnosed with a SPTP. During the consequent six-year follow-up period, low-density liver lesions and an intractable peptic ulcer gradually appeared. Finally, the patient diagnosis was confirmed as a malignant pancreatic neuroendocrine carcinoma with liver metastases. On June 1, 2011, a liver transplant was successfully performed and the patient has maintained a good overall condition. The underlying clinical and pathological factors that may have resulted in misdiagnosis are investigated in the present study. Through providing our preliminary clinical experiences and lessons, the aim of the present study was to focus the attention of clinicians on this type of cancer in order to improve its diagnosis and treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qi-Kai
authors.initials: QK
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hang-Cheng
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ji-Hai
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jin-Liang
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei-Dong
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Anhui Provincial Hospital, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui 230001, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Ge-Liang
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Xu
keywords: gastrinoma; misdiagnosis; neuroendocrine tumor; solid pseudopapillary tumor of pancreas