Clinicopathological characteristics of primary pancreatic lymphoma: report of two cases

Primary pancreatic lymphoma (PPL), originating from the pancreatic parenchyma, is a rare type of lymphoma. The symptoms and radiographic findings of PPL are quite similar to pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PAC), and thus it is often misdiagnosed. In this study, we described the clinical features, radiographic findings, histological and immunohistochemical analysis, molecular detection and clinical treatment of two cases of PPL, aiming to distinguish PPL from PAC. The two cases were both low-grade PPL. One was follicular lymphoma and the other was small lymphocytic lymphoma. Imaging examination of the two cases both showed solid mass, thus highly suspecting of PAC. However, after surgery, PPL was diagnosed by the pathologists through histopathological observation, immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay and clonality analysis. Therefore, accurately diagnosing and classifying of PPL is essential for patient management, since PPL is a treatable malignant tumor.