Pancreatic tuberculosis mimicking pancreatic carcinoma: series of three cases

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) is a worldwide pandemic, and is seeing a resurgence because of the AIDS epidemic. Pancreatic involvement is rare in the world, and when it is isolated around the pancreas, it is often mistaken for pancreatic carcinoma. We report three cases of pancreatic TB that masqueraded as malignancy in a 50-year-old female, a 34-year-old male and a 39-year-old male with a previous history of abdominal TB. All had computed tomographic scans suspicious of possible pancreatic malignancy. Endoscopic ultrasound was performed in two patients. Two patients underwent laparotomy but did not undergo the intended pancreaticoduodenectomy, whereas the third patient was diagnosed after computed tomographic-guided percutaneous biopsy of the pancreatic mass. In conclusion, pancreatic TB should always be considered as a differential diagnosis to pancreatic malignancy.