Cytology findings in pancreatic heterotopia, a potential pitfall for malignancy: A case report and literature review

• Main Authors: Emad Raddaoui, Abdulsalam Al-Sharabi, Majid A Almadi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2015-01-01
• Series: The Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology
• Subjects: Cytology of heterotopic pancreas; endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration; EUS-FNA; heterotopic pancreas; histopathology of ectopic pancreas
• Online Access: http://www.saudijgastro.com/article.asp?issn=1319-3767;year=2015;volume=21;issue=2;spage=116;epage=118;aulast=Raddaoui

Pancreatic heterotopia is a rare congenital disorder occurring at a variety of sites in the gastrointestinal tract. It is rarely symptomatic. Despite advances in diagnostic techniques, it still remains a challenge to the clinician to differentiate it from a neoplasm. Cytologic characteristics of pancreatic heterotopia in general are rarely described in the literature. We report the cytologic characteristics of heterotopic pancreatic tissue at the gastric outlet in a 48-year-old female. The patient underwent surgical excision due to symptoms related to the lesion. Endoscopic ultrasound fine-needle aspiration is increasingly used for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumors, which makes the recognition of certain endoscopically unreachable lesions an important step in optimal patient management.