Two Cases of Pancreatic Tuberculosis Masquerading as a Pancreatic Mass

Park, Ji Woon; Kim, Dong Il; Park, Soon Seo; Seo, Dong Wan; Lee, Sung Koo; Kim, Myung Hwan; Min, Young Il; Hong, Seung Mo

Abstract

Tuberculosis of the pancreas is extremely rare, even in the countries where abdominal or pulmonary tuberculosis is common. The clinical presentation of pancreatic tuberculosis includes nonspecific symptoms such as fever, fatigue, or weight loss. The diseases which can form pancreatic mass are acute or chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic abscess, and pancreatic mass mimicking carcinoma. We experienced two cases of pancreatic tuberculosis, which were highly suggestive of malignant pancreatic tumors. In one patient, the definitive diagnosis was made through positive AFB smears obtained by fine-needle aspiration and biopsy with CT guidance. However, the diagnosis of the other patient was made by pancreatic biopsy during explorative laparotomy. The two patients responded well to antituberculosis therapy. We report two cases of pancreatic tuberculosis mimicking carcinoma.