Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2021 Jun 1;60(11):1753-1757.
doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.4916-20. Epub 2021 Jan 15.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Developing with Acute Pancreatitis Mimicking Autoimmune Pancreatitis

Ryohei Sumitani  1 , Taiki Hori  1 , Jumpei Murai  1 , Shiyori Kawata  1 , Masahiro Oura  1 , Kimiko Sogabe  1 , Mamiko Takahashi  1 , Takeshi Harada  1 , Shiro Fujii  1 , Hirokazu Miki  2 , Kumiko Kagawa  1 , Masahiro Abe  1 , Shingen Nakamura  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Developing with Acute Pancreatitis Mimicking Autoimmune Pancreatitis

Ryohei Sumitani et al. Intern Med. .

Abstract

A 33-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for fever and abdominal pain. A blood analysis revealed pancytopenia and increased serum pancreatic enzymes with disseminated intravascular coagulation. A detailed examination revealed acute pancreatitis, with diffuse swelling of the pancreas and diffuse beaded dilatation of the main pancreatic duct, which mimicked autoimmune pancreatitis complicated by acute myeloid leukemia. Systemic cytotoxic chemotherapy led to the remission of leukemia and pancreatitis. We hypothesized that the etiology of acute pancreatitis was invasion of leukemia cells. Acute pancreatitis is rare as a symptom of leukemia; however, we should consider the possibility of leukemia during the differential diagnosis of acute pancreatitis.

Keywords: acute myeloid leukemia; acute pancreatitis; autoimmune pancreatitis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors state that they have no Conflict of Interest (COI).

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
A, B: Computed tomography image of the abdomen on admission. Diffuse swelling of the pancreas, dilatation of the main pancreatic duct (arrows) and multiple enhancement defects in the bilateral kidneys (circles) were observed. C: Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography on admission showed beaded dilatation of the pancreatic duct and disruption of the main pancreatic duct (arrow).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Clinical course. The patient received idarubicin and cytarabine as induction therapy and achieved a hematological remission. Leukemia and pancreatitis both improved after chemotherapy, and the abnormal pancreas and kidney findings disappeared after the first course of consolidation chemotherapy. IDR: idarubicin, AraC: cytarabine, HD AraC: high-dose cytarabine, FISH: fluorescence in situ hybridization, mono: monocyte, RNA: ribonucleic acid
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Rose-Inman H, Kuehl D. Acute leukemia. Hematol Oncol Clin North Am 31: 1011-1028, 2017. - PubMed
    1. Johnson CD, Besselink MG, Carter R. Acute pancreatitis. BMJ 349: g4859, 2014. - PubMed
    1. Yokoe M, Takada T, Mayumi T, et al. Japanese guidelines for the management of acute pancreatitis: Japanese Guidelines 2015. J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Sci 22: 405-432, 2015. - PubMed
    1. Isaji S, Takada T, Mayumi T, et al. Revised Japanese guidelines for the management of acute pancreatitis 2015: revised concepts and updated points. J Hepatobiliary Pancreat Sci 22: 433-445, 2015. - PubMed
    1. Wolthers BO, Frandsen TL, Baruchel A, et al. Asparaginase-associated pancreatitis in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: an observational Ponte di Legno Toxicity Working Group study. Lancet Oncol 18: 1238-1248, 2017. - PubMed

Publication types