Léiomyome primitif de la tête du pancréas

Leiomyoma of the pancreas: an extremely rare entity

BACKGROUND

Leiomyoma of the pancreas is an extremely rare entity. There are currently only three reported cases, all of which were small, asymptomatic, and incidentally found tumor.

METHODS

We have reported the first case of leiomyoma of the pancreas in a young woman with a large symptomatic mass.

RESULTS

A 31-year-old woman presented with chronic abdominal pain. Computed tomography scans showed a huge heterogeneously enhancing mass, located between duodenum and pancreatic head. The patient underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy and the histology confirmed leiomyoma of the pancreas.

CONCLUSIONS

This case adds the knowledge that this extremely rare entity could be manifested as symptomatic mass in a young patient.

[Primary leiomyosarcoma of the pancreas]

Primary leiomyosarcoma (LMS) of the pancreas is a rare mesenchymal neoplasm (0.1% of pancreatic tumors) with only 35 cases reported in the world literature. We describe a 36th case. This tumor affects adults in the fifth decade of life, especially men. Its diagnosis is difficult and is based on immunohistochemical analyses that reveal smooth muscle cell markers. We report the case of a patient with primary LMS in the head of the pancreas. He underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy for both diagnosis and treatment after imaging was unable to provide a precise diagnosis. The discussion covers the clinical, diagnostic, immunohistochemical, and therapeutic characteristics of this neoplasm.