Pancreatic carcinoma presenting as bleeding from segmental gastric varices: pitfalls in diagnosis

Abstract

Summary:Splenic vein occlusion leading to gastric variceal haemorrhage should be considered in cases of obscure upper gastrointestinal bleeding. We report an unusual case in which the underlying pathology was a resectable carcinoma of the pancreatic tail.

Gastric Varices in Absence of Splenic Vein Thrombosis: A Rare Entity of Idiopathic Non-Cirrhotic Portal Hypertension

“…Sixty-three percent of the cases were caused by pancreatitis, whereas pancreatic neoplasm contributed to 18% of the cases [ 5 , 7 ]. Sutton and Madsen [ 8 ], in comprehensive reviews of English language publications from 1900-69 and 1969-84, respectively, identified only 263 cases. Almost half the cases were secondary to pancreatitis or its sequelae, notably pseudo-cyst formation.…”

American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute Technical Review on Obscure Gastrointestinal Bleeding

“…Commonly overlooked lesions in the upper GI tract include Cameron's erosions in large hiatal hernias, 6 fundic varices, 7,8 peptic ulcer disease, angioectasias, 6 Dieulafoy's lesion, 9 and gastric antral vascular ectasia. 10,11 Lesions missed during colonoscopy include angioectasias and neoplasms.…”

Gastric adenocarcinoma inducing portal hypertension: A rare presentation

“…Hepatocellular carcinoma and pancreatic adenocarcinoma are the commonest tumors reported in literature to present as variceal bleeding [5][6][7][8][9][10] . A case of ovarian cancer presenting similarly has been reported [11] .…”