Cystic degeneration of neuro endocrine tumor of pancreas and Crohn's disease: true or coincidental association?

Pancreatic endocrine tumors (PETs) or islet cell tumors are rare lesions, the incidence of which is estimated to be less than 1 per 100,000 person-years in the general population. PETs can be divided into functional (exhibit a distinct clinical syndrome due to hormone hypersecretion) and non-functional tumors. The majority of PETs are non-functional. In spite of their rarity, cystic neoplasms of the pancreas are characterized by existing or potential malignancy that cannot be ignored during decisive process with regard to the choice of treatment. The purpose of this workis to find an association with Crohn's disease and cystic degeneration of a neuroendocrine tumor of the pancreas. Crohn's disease may affect extraintestinal organs, including the pancreas. In such cases, It seems certain that many patients diagnosed with Crohn disease (CD) are predisposed to a wider spectrum of cancers. We present a case of pancreatic cyst with no typical features of pseudocyst in the medical interview, with history of Crohn's disease, treated by caudal pancreatectomy. We tried to evaluate the clinical and morphological features of so-called cystic neoplasms associated with inflammatory bowel disease and to define their pathological characteristics.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.