Primary pancreatic lymphoma diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle biopsy

Primary pancreatic lymphoma: Report of 4 cases with literature review

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is ranked as the 14th most common cancer and the 7th leading cause of cancer-related deaths. The most common histological type is adenocarcinoma, other type such as primary pancreatic lymphoma (PPL) still very rare. Due to the lack of specific clinical and imaging characteristics, the diagnostic of PPL remains challenging. We report 4 cases of PPL diagnosed and managed at our gastroenterology department between 2019 and 2023. Case 1: A 16-year-old male presented with abdominal pain, jaundice, and weight loss. Imaging revealed an 8 cm tumor in the pancreas, subsequent biopsies confirming Burkitt's lymphoma. Despite chemotherapy, the patient succumbed to the disease. Case 2: A 92-year-old female with no prior medical history presented with abdominal pain, jaundice, pruritus, and weight loss. Imaging revealed a large pancreatic mass, and biopsies identified large B-cell lymphoma. Unfortunately, the patient passed away before treatment initiation. Case 3: A 63-year-old male with a history of tobacco smoking presented with abdominal pain, weight loss, and anorexia. Imaging and biopsies confirmed diffuse large cell B-phenotype lymphoma. The patient achieved complete remission after rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin hydrochloride, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) therapy. Case 4: A 67-year-old man with jaundice, abdominal pain, and weight loss was diagnosed with diffuse large cell B lymphoma through imaging and fine needle aspiration (FNA). The patient responded well to R-CHOP therapy. In conclusion, PPL is an uncommon tumor, with no specific clinical or radiological characteristics. A thorough evaluation of clinical, radiological, biological and histological data is necessary to consider it as a differential diagnosis and ensure accurate and timely management.

Primary hepatopancreatobiliary lymphoma: Pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management

Primary hepatopancreatobiliary lymphoma (PHPBL) is extremely rare, which is defined as a lympho-proliferative disease confined to the hepatobiliary system and pancreas without any involvement of lymph nodes, bone marrow, or other organs. The clinical and imaging manifestations of PHPBL are variable and non-special, which are akin to those of tumors of the hepatobiliary and pancreatic systems. The overall prognosis and management of PHPBL differ from those of other tumors in the hepatobiliary system and pancreas. Proper diagnosis and prompt treatment are essential for improving clinical outcomes. Due to its rarity, the optimal treatment has not been issued. However, combination chemotherapy is considered as a standard treatment for them. This review provides an overview of the pathogenesis, diagnosis, pathology, and management of PHPBL and offers clinicians the diagnosis and management schedule for PHPBL.

Application of dynamic contrast enhanced ultrasound in distinguishing focal-type autoimmune pancreatitis from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

OBJECTIVE

To explore the value of dynamic contrast enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) in preoperative differential diagnosis of focal-type autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

From May 2016 to March 2020, patients with biopsy and histopathologically confirmed focal-type AIP (n = 9) were retrospectively included. All patients received contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) examinations one week before surgery/biopsy. Dynamic analysis was performed by VueBox® software (Bracco, Italy). Eighteen cases of resection and histopathologically proved PDAC lesions were also included as control group. B mode ultrasound (BMUS) features, CEUS enhancement patterns, time intensity curves (TICs) and CEUS quantitative parameters were obtained and compared between AIP and PDAC lesions.

RESULTS

After injection of ultrasound contrast agents, most focal-type AIP lesions displayed hyper-enhancement (2/9, 22.2%) or iso-enhancement (6/9, 66.7%) during arterial phase of CEUS, while most of PDAC lesions showed hypo-enhancement (88.9%) (P < 0.01). During late phase, most of AIP lesions showed iso-enhancement (8/9, 88.9%), while most of PDAC lesions showed hypo-enhancement (94.4%) (P < 0.001). Compared with PDAC lesions, TICs of AIP lesions showed delayed and higher enhancement. Among all CEUS perfusion parameters, ratio of PE (peak enhancement), WiAUC (wash-in area under the curve), WiR (wash-in rate), WiPI (wash-in perfusion index, WiPI = WiAUC/ rise time), WoAUC (wash-out area under the curve), WiWoAUC (wash-in and wash-out area under the curve) and WoR (wash-out rate) between pancreatic lesion and surrounding normal pancreatic tissue were significantly higher in AIP lesions than PDAC lesions (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

DCE-US with quantitative analysis has the potential to make preoperative differential diagnosis between focal-type AIP and PDAC non-invasively.