Nonfunctional paraganglioma of the pancreas: report of a case

Abstract

We report herein the case of a 61-year-old man found to have a rare nonfunctional paraganglioma of the pancreas. Interestingly, the preoperative data and images showed similar characteristics to neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas. Both paragangliomas and neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas belong to the category of Amine Precursor Uptake and Decarboxylation (APUD) tumors (APUDomas). Thus, it is important to examine the serum level of pancreatic endocrine hormones and a variety of peptides to differentiate paragangliomas of the pancreas from other pancreatic tumors. Paragangliomas of the pancreas grow slowly, so radical resection is recommended to achieve curability with a good prognosis.