Primary Pancreatic Lymphoma: A Rare Cause of Massive Upper Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage

1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine; 2Department of Surgery; 3Department of Community Health Sciences; 4Department of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta Correspondence: Dr Marc P Dupre, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, 3500 – 26th Avenue Northeast, Calgary, Alberta T1Y 6J4. Telephone 403-943-4036, fax 403-291-2931, e-mail mpdupre@gmail.com Received for publication May 27, 2011. Accepted May 29, 2011 Case Presentation A 68-year-old man presented with abdominal pain radiating to the back associated with a 25 kg weight loss. Abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) revealed an 8 cm partially cystic mass in the pancreatic head that encased the aorta and inferior vena cava (IVC) (Figure 1). A CT-guided fine-needle aspiration (FNA) was performed and confirmed a diagnosis of diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Subsequent staging CT demonstrated peripancreatic lymphadenopathy and air within the tumour, suggesting a possible communication between the intestine and the pancreatic mass. Direct visualization with gastroscopy confirmed a large penetrating ulcer between the second portion of the duodenum and the pancreatic tumour (Figure 2). Chemotherapy was delayed while pyloric exclusion surgery was performed to reduce the risk of chemotherapy-related uncontained perforation of the duodenum. The postoperative clinical course was complicated by a slowly declining hemoglobin level, followed by cardiopulmonary arrest in concert with a sudden drop in hemoglobin level to 50 g/L. An emergent upper endoscopy revealed copious amounts of blood within the stomach. The grave clinical deterioration precluded further resuscitative efforts, and the patient died from a massive upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage. A postmortem examination confirmed an 8 cm, extensively necrotic mass in the head of the pancreas. Significant peripancreatic lymphadenopathy was present; however, all nonregional lymph nodes were of normal size. The pancreatic head mass extended laterally and eroded into the adjacent duodenal wall producing the large mucosal erosion identified endoscopically. Posteriorly, the mass encased the aorta and the IVC, producing an irregular ulceration of the endolumenal surface of the IVC (Figure 3). This ulceration of the IVC resulted in a fistulous tract between the IVC and the duodenum via an intermediary of the pancreatic head mass. Histological examination revealed a poorly differentiated malignant neoplasm, which by immunohistochemical studies confirmed the original diagnosis of a diffuse large B cell lymphoma.