Peripancreatic Castleman disease

Castleman disease or giant lymph node hyperplasia is a rare disorder of the lymphoid tissue, usually occurring in the mediastinum. We report a case of localized peripancreatic plasma cell type Castleman disease, which is an unusual site.

A 45-year-old woman with a history of mild epigastric pain radiating to the back for the previous year was admitted and her physical examination was normal. A raised erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein and hypergammaglobulinemia were found. Abdominal ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a homogeneously hypoechoic solid mass having a smooth-surface, 6 cm in diameter, located between the head of the pancreas, the lower margin of the antrum and the left lobe of the liver. The mass was totally excised surgically with repair of the pancreas capsule. Histopathological examination of the tumor showed plasma-cell type Castleman disease.

Clinicians should be aware that Castleman disease may involve peripancreatic tissue which leads to difficulties in arriving at a differential diagnosis. Surgical excision is both a diagnostic and a curative method for management of the disease.