Yasuhisa Mori, Norihiro Sato, Ryuta Taniguchi, Toshihisa Tamura, Noritaka Minagawa, Kazunori Shibao, Aiichiro Higure, Mitsuhiro Nakamoto, Masashi Taguchi, Koji Yamaguchi
Context Somatostatinoma is a rare neoplasm of the pancreas. Preoperative diagnosis is often difficult. Case report We report a 72-year-old woman with a pancreatic head tumor measuring 37 mm in diameter, and enlargement of the lymphnodes on the anterior surface of the pancreatic head and the posterior surface of the horizontal part of the duodenum.Laboratory data showed an elevated plasma somatostatin concentration. Examination of a biopsy specimen of thepancreatic head mass obtained by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) showedhistopathological features of a neuroendocrine tumor. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the tumor cells werepositive for somatostatin, leading to a preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic somatostatinoma. The patient underwentpylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy. The plasma somatostatin concentration decreased progressively aftersurgery. Conclusions A rare case of pancreatic somatostatinoma with lymph node metastases was presented.Immunohistochemical analysis of a biopsy specimen obtained by EUS-FNA was useful for preoperative diagnosis.
