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Primary pancreatic choriocarcinoma presenting as pancreatitis
Biggs Saravanan Ramachandran1, Malarvizhi Murugesan, Mohammed Ali
1Department of Medical Gastroenterology, Madras Medical College, Chennai, India. rbiggs21@yahoo.com
Context:
Pancreatic cancers can present with pancreatitis or its complications. Pancreatic choriocarcinoma is an extremely rare disease to involve pancreas.
Case Report:
A 27-year-old married woman presented to our facility with abdominal pain and fullness of 20-day duration. She was clinically diagnosed as acute pancreatitis with pseudocyst as a complication. Serum amylase was elevated with CT scan of abdomen showing a cystic lesion involving the pancreas. We approached the cyst with endoscopic ultrasonography and cyst fluid was aspirated and analyzed. Cyst fluid amylase was elevated and cytology revealed germ cell tumor. Serum beta human chorionic gonadotropin was elevated. She had a swelling over the jaw which also revealed choriocarcinoma in histopathological examination. Patient was started with chemotherapy.
Conclusion:
We report this case of pancreatic choriocarcinoma due to its extreme rarity and the diagnostic dilemma it posed.
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Pancreatitis is the inflammation of the pancreas, which occurs when the immune system becomes active and causes swelling, pain, and disruptions in organ function. Pancreatitis can manifest as either an acute or chronic condition.
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