Gastric ectopic pancreas mimicking a gastrointestinal stromal tumour: A case report

The diagnosis and management of upper gastrointestinal tract submucosal tumours can be challenging due to the difficulties with adequate pre-operative characterization and tissue sampling.

A 61-year-old female patient underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy because of epigastric pain and episodic vomiting. A submucosal tumour was found along the greater curvature in the antrum. On endoscopic ultrasound, the mass was suspected to be a gastrointestinal stromal tumour. The patient was referred for laparoscopic excision. The final histopathological examination confirmed an ectopic pancreas, not a gastrointestinal stromal tumour as thought preoperatively.

Despite an adequate pre-operative diagnostic workup with endoscopic ultrasonography, the lesion was misdiagnosed as a gastrointestinal stromal tumour and surgery was performed to excise an ectopic pancreas, essentially a benign lesion.

The case highlights the absence of firm diagnostic criteria to differentiate submucosal gastric lesions.