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Updated: May 24, 2026

Dissection of the Mouse Pancreas for Histological Analysis and Metabolic Profiling
Published on: August 19, 2017
Histopathologically proven autoimmune pancreatitis mimicking neuroendocrine tumor or pancreatic cancer
Shinji Onda1, Tomoyoshi Okamoto, Masaru Kanehira
1Department of Surgery, The Jikei University, Daisan Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) can be difficult to distinguish from pancreatic cancer. We report a case of histopathologically proven AIP mimicking neuroendocrine tumor (NET) or pancreatic cancer in a 53-year-old man. He was referred to our hospital for further evaluation of a pancreatic mass detected on ultrasonography at a medical check-up. Abdominal ultrasonography showed a 15-mm hypoechoic mass located in the pancreatic body. Computed tomography revealed a tumor without any contrast enhancement, and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated the mass to be hyperintense on diffusion-weighted image. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography revealed slight dilatation of a branch of the pancreatic duct without stricture of the main pancreatic duct. The common bile duct seemed intact. Under suspicion of a non-functioning NET or malignant neoplasm, laparotomy was performed. At laparotomy, an elastic firm and well-circumscribed mass was found suggestive of a non-functioning NET, thus enucleation was performed. Histopathologically, the lesion corresponded to AIP.
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