Pancreatic panniculitis as a paraneoplastic phenomenon of a pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma

Abstract

We present the case of a 59-year-old patient admitted with extreme painful erythematous subcutaneous nodules of the lower extremities in association with arthritis and peripheral eosinophilia. Upon skin biopsy, the diagnosis of pancreatic panniculitis was made. On further investigation, an underlying acinar cell type pancreas carcinoma was revealed. This clinical case does illustrate how a seemingly innocuous skin condition may herald an underlying malignant disease. The presence of pancreatic panniculitis should trigger clinicians to undertake further thorough diagnostic investigation of the pancreas.

Keywords:

• Pancreatic panniculitis
• Acinar cell carcinoma
• Macrolipase
• Paraneoplastic syndrome
• BRCA2 mutation