A rare case of Castleman disease mimicking a pancreatic tumor

Castleman's disease or angiofollicular lymph node hyperplasia is a rare clinical entity, and may involve any parts of the body. Unicentric presentation of the disease is the most common presentation. Castleman's disease of the pancreas that mimics a pancreatic neoplasm is more uncommon. We present a 38-year-old female patient with a one-month past history of abdominal pain. Imaging studies revealed hypervascular, 4 x 2 cm in size nodular mass localised in the pancreatic body. In FDG PET/CT, the pancreatic mass was FDG-avid. Laparoscopic enucleation of the lesion was performed. Histopathological study revealed unicentric form of Castleman's disease, a hyaline vascular variant. Since these lesions are rare and resembling malignant tumors on computed tomography and angiography, we discuss the problems of diagnosing Castleman's disease, together with the literature. KEY WORDS: Castleman's disease, Lymphoid Follicular hyperplasia, Lymphoproliferative disorder, Peripancreatic tumor.