Open AccessSister Mary Joseph’s nodule as a first sign of pancreatic cancer
Author(s) -
Xueli Bai,
Qi Zhang,
Waqas Masood,
Noman Masood,
Yin Tang,
Chunhui Cao,
Qihan Fu,
Yun Zhang,
Shunliang Gao,
Tingbo Liang
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
world journal of gastroenterology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.427
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 2219-2840
pISSN - 1007-9327
DOI - 10.3748/wjg.v18.i45.6686
Subject(s) - umbilicus (mollusc) , medicine , pancreatic cancer , malignancy , nodule (geology) , differential diagnosis , cancer , sister , abdominal mass , pathology , general surgery , radiology , surgery , biology , paleontology , sociology , anthropology
Sister Mary Joseph's nodule (SMJN) refers to a metastatic tumor of the umbilicus. It is a rare entity which arises from a malignancy in the intra-abdominal cavity. We herein describe a patient who presented with SMJN as his first sign of pancreatic cancer. It is an even more unusual case of SMJN. We therefore, suggest that pancreatic cancer should be included in the differential diagnosis when an umbilical mass is found. With the progress made in surgical procedures and other modalities, an early diagnosis will dramatically improve the prognosis of the patients.