Secondary tumors of the pancreas: four cases and literature review

Abstract

Four cases affected by pancreatic metastases revealed by CT and MR during the last two years are presented. In Case 1 and 2 the metastatic disease appeared more than 10 years after the primary renal neoplasm was diagnosed. In the remaining two cases -non small cell lung cancer and non-Hodgkin disease -the metastases developed shortly after the onset of the primary malignancy. A literature review is given. Metastases in the pancreas are rare. The symptoms and imaging features are variable, therefore non-invasive imaging diagnosis is difficult. To resolve this problem a thorough scrutiny of the patients' medical history, and the functional imaging methods can be helpful.