Published online Apr 7, 2015. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v21.i13.4082
Peer-review started: September 18, 2014
First decision: September 27, 2014
Revised: November 18, 2014
Accepted: January 8, 2015
Article in press: January 8, 2015
Published online: April 7, 2015
Processing time: 212 Days and 4 Hours
A 62-year-old Japanese man presented to our hospital with a history of weight loss of 6 kg in 4 mo. Imaging examinations revealed a tumor located on the third portion of the duodenum with stenosis. We suspected duodenal carcinoma and performed pancreas-preserving segmental duodenectomy. Adenocarcinoma arising from a heterotopic pancreas at the third portion of the duodenum was finally diagnosed by immunohistochemical staining. Malignant transformation in the duodenum arising from a heterotopic pancreas is extremely rare; to our knowledge, only 13 cases have been reported worldwide, including the present case. The most common location of malignancy is the proximal duodenum at the first and descending portion. Herein, we describe the first case of adenocarcinoma arising from a heterotopic pancreas, which was located in the third portion of the duodenum, with a review of the literature.
Core tip: Based on all abdominal surgeries, the incidence of heterotopic pancreas ranges from 0.25% to 1.2%. The frequency of malignant transformation ranges from 0.7% to 1.8% among all heterotopic pancreas cases. Malignant transformation arising from a heterotopic pancreas is extremely rare. The most common location of malignancy is the proximal duodenum at the first and descending portion. In this paper, we report the case of a patient with weight loss who was diagnosed as having an adenocarcinoma arising from a heterotopic pancreas, at the third portion of the duodenum, with a review of the literature.