Syndrome Associated with Pancreatic Acinar Cell Carcinoma

Abstract

The tenth case is reported of a syndrome characterized by widespread panniculitis, polyarthralgia or arthritis, and eosinophilia occurring in men aged 50 to 70. The outcome of these cases has invariably been fatal, and necropsies have shown acinar cellcarcinomas of the pancreas with well-differentiated metastases, usually in the liver. The total tumour mass is always large, and both primary and secondary lesions have been shown to contain increased amounts of lipase. It is believed that the widespread fat necrosis is a direct result of the increased secretion of lipase into the blood. © 1970, British Medical Journal Publishing Group. All rights reserved.