CASE REPORT

JOP. J Pancreas (Online) 2006; 7(1):56-61.

Acute Pancreatitis Associated with Neuroendocrine Tumor of the Pancreas

José Jukemura1, André Luis Montagnini1, Marcos Vinícius Perini2, José Luiz Jesus de Almeida1, Joaquim José Gama Rodrigues1, José Eduardo Monteiro da Cunha1

1Department of Gastroenterology and 2Department of Surgery, University of São Paulo, School of Medicine. São Paulo, Brazil

ABSTRACT

Context Endocrine tumors are a less commonly known cause of acute pancreatitis. This report presents the case of a patient who have had acute pancreatitis secondary to a pancreatic endocrine neoplasm. The majority of the cases previously reported were non-functioning tumors and the pancreatitis tended to be mild. Moreover, the majority of the tumors were diagnosed in advanced stages, hindering curative treatment.

Case report A 31-year-old female patient presented with epigastric pain and a history of recurrent acute pancreatitis. Preoperative imaging investigation showed a dilation of the distal portion of the main pancreatic duct and intra-operative ultrasound demonstrated a mild stricture of the main pancreatic duct at the body of the pancreas. Frozen-section examination revealed a malignant neoplasm, subsequently identified as a neuroendocrine carcinoma, and a distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy was performed. Acute pancreatitis was an early symptom in this patient who underwent a hopefully curative resection.

Conclusion The authors conclude that, in patients with acute pancreatitis of unknown origin, the possibility of a non-functioning neuroendocrine tumor should be investigated.

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Keywords Neuroendocrine Tumors; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Pancreatitis

Correspondence José Jukemura: jjukemura@yahoo.com.br

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