A case of pancreatic body cancer complicated by a pancreatic pseudocyst

Abstract

The patient, a 67-year-old man, had epigastric pain from April 2009. In June, he was found to have high pancreatic enzyme levels ; a cyst in the pancreatic tail that was 30 mm in diameter was also found. By August, the diameter of the cyst had increased to 160 mm. An enhanced abdominal CT examination showed marginal staining of the pseudocyst, that was 16×5×9 cm in size. The localized swelling in the pancreatic body had poor contrast on imaging taken during the pancreatic parenchymal phase ; the late-phase state showed pale staining. Cancer was diagnosed based on EUS-FNA results. At the end of September, the pseudocyst had disappeared ; there was no ascites or distant metastasis. A distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy was performed. A pseudocyst present in a patient with pancreatic cancer is thought to develop and then subseguently rupture due to obstruction of the pancreatic duct by the cancer.