Pancreatic schwannoma: Report of a case and review of literature (original) (raw)

Rare presentation of pancreatic schwannoma: a case report

Journal of Medical Case Reports, 2008

Schwannoma is a rare tumor among pancreatic neoplasms. Schwannomas vary in size, and most of them are cystic, mimicking pancreatic cystic lesions. Generally, a definitive diagnosis is made at the time of histological analysis. The mainstay treatment is surgical resection. We report an unusual presentation of pancreatic schwannoma with abdominal pain and several episodes of cholangitis in a 54-year-old Caucasian (Iranian) man. The condition was not diagnosed pre-operatively and Whipple's procedure was performed. Pancreatic schwannoma is an important clinical entity to include in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic lesions. Pre-operative diagnosis is difficult but computed tomographic findings may be helpful. The tumor may also have atypical and rare presentations, such as cholangitis and weight loss. For benign tumors, simple enucleation is usually adequate, whereas malignant tumors require standard oncological resection.

Pancreatic schwannoma: Case report and an updated 30-year review of the literature yielding 47 cases

World Journal of Gastroenterology

Pancreatic schwannomas are rare neoplasms. Authors briefly describe a 64-year-old female patient with cystic pancreatic schwannoma mimicking other cystic tumors and review the literature. Databases for PubMed were searched for English-language articles from 1980 to 2010 using a list of keywords, as well as references from review articles. Only 41 articles, including 47 cases, have been reported in the English literature. The mean age was 55.7 years (range 20-87 years), with 45% of patients being male. Mean tumor size was 6.2 cm (range 1-20 cm). Tumor location was the head (40%), head and body (6%), body (21%), body and tail (15%), tail (4%), and uncinate process (13%). Thirty-four percent of patients exhibited solid tumors and 60% of patients exhibited cystic tumors. Treatment included pancreaticoduodenectomy (32%), distal pancreatectomy (21%), enucleation (15%), unresectable (4%), refused operation (2%) and the detail of resection was not specified in 26% of patients. No patients d...

Pancreatic Schwannoma: a rare case and a brief literature review

International Journal of Surgery Case Reports, 2016

INTRODUCTION: Pancreatic schwannoma (PS) is an extremly rare benign tumor. Less than 50 cases of pancreatic schwannoma have been described in the English literature over the past thirty years. PRESENTATION OF CASE REPORT: A 63-year-old female underwent left modified radical mastectomy 2 years ago due to breast cancer. During her routine checkup , a 65 × 63 × 55 mm measured calcified, welldemarcated, cystic-mass having septations and calcifications that localized to the pancreatic head was detected by abdominal computerized tomography. She was asymptomatic and her tumor markers were in normal ranges. A standard Whipple procedure was performed, and the histo-pathological diagnosis of the resected specimen was reported as ancient schwannoma with clear surgical margins. Patient's postoperative course was eventful. She had a biliary leakage after surgery which was managed conservatively. She is under follow-up. DISCUSSION: Pancreatic schwannoma also known as neurilemoma or neuroma is a slowly growing, encapsulated, mostly benign tumor with smooth well-delineated margins that originates from myelin producing schwann cells located on the nerve sheath of the peripheral epineurium of either the sympathetic or parasympathetic autonomic fibers. PS's are extremly rare. The head of pancreas being involved in the vast majority of cases (40%), followed by its body (20%). Management of pancreatic schwannomas remains largely controversial. Both enucleation and radical surgical resections have revealed great therapeutic efficiency. with a well prognosis without recurrences. CONCLUSION: Although rare, PS's should be considered in the differential diagnosis of the other solid or cystic masses of the pancreas.

Enlarging Pancreatic Schwannoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Clinics and Practice, 2015

A 72-year-old female presented with dyspepsia for 2 years and an incidental mass in the head of the pancreas on abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan. Patient had multiple negative endoscopic ultrasound guided biopsies. She was followed up for 3 years with serial imaging until an abdominal CT scan showed an increase in size of the pancreatic mass. Physical examination was unremarkable. Laboratory tests including tumor markers were normal. Given the enlarging size of the mass and its impingement on the portal vein, the consensus was to proceed with surgery. Histology revealed a 3.5 cm mass showing a spindle cell neoplasm with mild atypia. The lesion was well defined and nerve tissue was noted at the periphery. On immuno-stains, the spindle cells were positive for S-100 protein and negative for pan-cytokeratin, CD-34, CD- 117, smooth muscle actin and Melan A, consistent with the diagnosis of a pancreatic schwannoma.

Pancreatic schwannoma- CT and MRI findings: A rare case report and review of literature

Annals of Medicine and Surgery, 2021

Introduction Pancreatic schwannoma (PS) is an extremely rare benign tumor. Here we describe the Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) results of PS in a 59 years old woman, as well as a review of the literature. Case presentation A 59-year-old woman consulted for atypical epigastralgia without fatigue, weight loss or fever. CT scan and MRI showed a 35 mm inhomogeneous lesion with well-defined margins located in the pancreas head. The diagnosis of pancreatic tumor was made. The pathologic examination of the biopsied mass yielded a diagnosis of pancreatic schwannoma. Clinical discussion On CT scans, almost all benign PS are well-defined cystic or low-density masses. MRI is helpful in characterizing their typical encapsulation. Conclusion The detection of pancreatic schwannoma is extremely rare. Although multiple imaging modalities are currently available, it is challenging to make an accurate diagnosis before operation.

Malignant schwannoma of the pancreas involving transversal colon treated with en-bloc resection

World journal of gastroenterology : WJG, 2010

Pancreatic schwannoma is a very uncommon tumor of the pancreas, with only 27 cases reported. Most pancreatic schwannomas are benign, with only four malignant tumors reported. We describe a case of giant malignant schwannoma of the pancreatic body and tail, which involved the transverse colon. The tumor was treated successfully with en bloc distal splenopancreatectomy and colon resection. This is believed to be the first reported radical operation for malignant schwannoma of the pancreatic body, with infiltration of the transverse colon, with excellent long-term results. The patient is alive and well 28 mo after the operation. The authors conclude that pancreatic schwannomas should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cystic neoplasms of the pancreas, although the diagnosis can only be confirmed by microscopic examination. In the case of the benign tumors, local excision is adequate, but in the case of malignant schwannoma, oncological standards must be fulfilled.

Benign Schwannoma of the Pancreatic Head

Gastroenterology, 2007

Question: A 36-year-old man previously in excellent health presented with a several-month history of upper abdominal discomfort, first noted after eating a stuffed pepper. Since then, he experienced the sensation intermittently, often in association with physical activities such as weightlifting. Physical examination and all laboratory investigations were normal. Empiric treatment with pantoprazole failed to improve symptoms. An upper endoscopy was normal. A computed tomography scan was performed, and revealed a low-attenuation mass arising from or adjacent to the uncinate process of the pancreas (Figure A). Subsequent endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) demonstrated a multicystic lesion with thick septations in the uncinate process of the pancreas, measuring 28 ϫ 36 mm (Figure B). EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of cyst fluid returned thin, clear, blood-tinged fluid sent for tumor markers, amylase, and cytology. FNA of a thick septation was also performed and sent for cytology. Initial differential diagnosis included an atypical appearing oligocystic serous cystadenoma versus a mucinous cystic neoplasm. However, cytologic examination revealed that neither of these were the case. What is the diagnosis? Look on page 830 for the answer and see the GASTROENTER-OLOGY website (http://www.gastrojournal.org) for more information on submitting your favorite image to Clinical Challenges and Images in GI.

Pancreatic Schwannoma Diagnosed by Endoscopic Ultrasound-guided Fine-needle Aspiration

Internal Medicine, 2021

A schwannoma is a tumor originating from Schwann cells. It is occasionally observed in the abdominal viscera in the form of a submucosal tumor derived from the gastric or duodenal muscularis propria. To date, only a few studies have reported on pancreatic schwannomas. Furthermore, very few patients are preoperatively diagnosed with pancreatic schwannoma because of the lack of established imaging characteristics distinguishing this type of schwannoma from other conditions. We herein report the first English publication of pancreatic schwannoma in which surgery was avoided because a pathological diagnosis was made solely on the basis of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration findings.

Intrapancreatic schwannoma diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology

Diagnostic Cytopathology, 2009

Schwannoma is a tumor of neuro-ectodermal origin, usually occuring in the head and neck and extremities. A retroperitoneal, and particularly intra-pancreatic presentation is very rare, and poses a clinical and diagnostic challenge. We report a case of a male patient who underwent an Endoscopic Ultrasoundguided Fine Needle Aspiration (EUS-FNA) biopsy of a hypoechoic, intra-pancreatic mass. The onsite cytological evaluation was consistent with a spindle cell neoplasm. Further evaluation, aided by immunohistochemical stains, defined the mass as a Schwannoma. The patient then underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy and the histopathological diagnosis of the surgical specimen confirmed the cytological diagnosis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of intra-pancreatic Schwannoma diagnosed preoperatively by EUS-FNA cytology. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2009;37:132-135. '