Pancreatic cancer Masquerading as lung nodules: A Diagnostic DilemmaLearning points

To our knowledge, this is the first report of isolated pulmonary nodules as an initial presentation of underlying pancreatic cancer. We present a case of metastatic pancreatic cancer which manifested as worsening bilateral pulmonary nodules and normal abdominal imaging in a 72-year-old female patien...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rahul Karna, Anam Javed, Adeel Nasrullah, Atif Raja, Hammad Arshad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-01-01
Series:Respiratory Medicine Case Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213007121001155
Description
Summary:To our knowledge, this is the first report of isolated pulmonary nodules as an initial presentation of underlying pancreatic cancer. We present a case of metastatic pancreatic cancer which manifested as worsening bilateral pulmonary nodules and normal abdominal imaging in a 72-year-old female patient. A navigational bronchoscopy with biopsy of lung nodules was performed which showed poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma. Carcinoembryonic antigen and CA 19-9 levels were elevated so endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration was done which revealed an underlying occult pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The patient was treated with chemotherapy. Patients with pulmonary metastasis have been shown to confer longer survival as compared to metastatic disease involving other organs. We have briefly reviewed the epidemiology, clinical characteristics and management of such cases in our report.
ISSN:2213-0071