Autopsy and Case Reports
https://www.autopsyandcasereports.org/article/doi/10.4322/acr.2020.171
Autopsy and Case Reports
Clinical Case Report

The rare case of a cystic pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor

Tarun Kumar; Brijnandan Gupta; Prasenjit Das; Kumble S. Madhusudhan

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Abstract

The pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) most commonly present as solid neoplasms; however, very rarely, they may present primarily as cystic neoplasms. Most of the cystic PanNETs are non-secreting tumors, and the radiological features are not well defined. Hence pre-operative diagnosis is usually challenging and the tumors are misdiagnosed as mucinous cystic neoplasms, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms, serous cystic neoplasms, solid pseudopapillary neoplasms, and non-neoplastic cysts. However, the management depends on the accurate diagnosis of these cystic lesions, which poses a dilemma. Herein, we report the case of a cystic PanNET in the tail of the pancreas, which was clinically and radiologically misdiagnosed as a mucinous cystic neoplasm. This case is reported to highlight this issue to the medical community regarding the diagnostic difficulty in such rare non-functioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors.

Keywords

Pancreas, Neuroendocrine Tumors, Cysts, Pancreatic Intraductal Neoplasms

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Publication date:
06/05/2020

5eda92ab0e8825022c1dab04 autopsy Articles
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