Absence of Internal Low Echoes Can Be an Important Diagnostic Clue for Intraductal Tubulopapillary Carcinomas of the Pancreas: A Case Report

Due to the low incidence of intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasms (ITPNs) of the pancreas, no typical images of them have been clarified. A 57-year-old man visited our hospital due to vomiting and abdominal pain. A blood test showed a high white blood cell count of 17,200/μL and a markedly elevated amylase level of 4,035 IU/L. CT showed swelling of the pancreatic head, which highly suggested a possible pancreatic head tumor. The patient received ulinastatin and antibiotic therapy for pancreatic head tumor-induced acute pancreatitis. An upper gastrointestinal endoscopy revealed a mass at the greater duodenal papilla. Endoscopic biopsy of the duodenal mass pathologically showed that the duodenal tumor was an adenoma. Endoscopic ultrasound showed common bile and main pancreatic duct dilatation and an oval mass with distinct margins, internal high echoes, and no posterior echo attenuation around the bile duct-pancreatic duct junction. Despite the lack of a definitive diagnosis of pathological malignancy, potential relapse of needle biopsy-induced acute pancreatitis made us treat the patient with pancreatic head and duodenal resection, followed by regional node dissection to avoid undertreatment. Postoperative pathological study clarified the duodenal mass to be an intestinal-type adenoma and showed that the solid mass in the pancreatic duct was 18 mm in size and consisted of cuboidal to columnar atypical cells growing mainly in a tubular fashion with severe dysplasia and no mucin production around the tumor cells. Immunostaining of the tumor cells showed MUC5AC, MUC2, trypsin, and BCL1 negativity, leading to the diagnosis of intraductal tubulopapillary carcinoma. The patient recovered uneventfully, was discharged on the 11th day after the operation, and is scheduled to be followed up on an outpatient basis. Diagnostic physicians should note that ITPNs have distinct margins, enhanced posterior echoes, and no internal low echoes due to their pathological structures. In addition, it is also important for diagnostic physicians to note that ITPN patients less often develop icterus due to both the mass softness and the lack of mucin production.