A Rare Presentation of a Solid Pseudopapillary Neoplasm of the Pancreas

Abstract

Solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPN) are rare and represent a minority of all pancreatic cystic tumors. Symptoms, if present, are generally nonspecific and upper gastrointestinal bleeding is extremely uncommon as an initial presentation. A 31-year-old woman with no prior medical history presented with a 3-week period of epigastric pain, which she reported as persistent, exacerbated by eating, and associated with progressive asthenia, fatigue, and exertional dyspnea. One month prior, she had had experienced 2 episodes of melena. Upon physical examination her skin was pale, with no other changes. Through diagnostic investigation, an esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed a giant ulcer in the duodenal bulb and a suspect fistulous orifice localized on the posterior wall of the duodenal bulb. In addition, a bulge on the duodenal bulb, suggestive of an extrinsic compression, was noticed. An abdominal computed tomography scan and magnetic resonance imaging showed a mixed solid and cystic lesion in the head of the pancreas in direct proximity to the duodenum, which contained an image compatible with a fistula. The patient successfully underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy. The histopathology, including microscopic analysis and immunohistochemistry, was consistent with an SPN of the pancreas. This case emphasizes that the evaluation of patients presenting with upper gastrointestinal bleeding due to a giant duodenal ulcer and an extrinsic mass effect noted on the duodenum should include cross-sectional images of the abdomen. In this case, the finding of a large well-encapsulated pancreatic solid and cystic mass on abdominal images was suggestive of a pancreatic neoplasm diagnosis, including an SPN.

Keywords

• upper gastrointestinal bleeding
• cystic pancreatic neoplasm
• solid pseudopapillary neoplasms