Cytology findings in pancreatic heterotopia, a potential pitfall for malignancy: A case report and literature review

Abstract

Pancreatic heterotopia is a rare congenital disorder occurring at a variety of sites in the gastrointestinal tract. It is rarely symptomatic. Despite advances in diagnostic techniques, it still remains a challenge to the clinician to differentiate it from a neoplasm. Cytologic characteristics of pancreatic heterotopia in general are rarely described in the literature. We report the cytologic characteristics of heterotopic pancreatic tissue at the gastric outlet in a 48-year-old female. The patient underwent surgical excision due to symptoms related to the lesion. Endoscopic ultrasound fine-needle aspiration is increasingly used for the diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumors, which makes the recognition of certain endoscopically unreachable lesions an important step in optimal patient management.