An unusual neoplasm of the pancreas : Pancreatic metastasis of a Merkel cell carcinoma. Case report and review of the literature

Isolated pancreatic metastases are rare. The differential diagno- sis of pancreatic neoplasms can be difficult, especially it can be troublesome to obtain tissue diagnosis. However, pancreatic lesions in patients with a history of a malignancy must be considered to be metastases. We present a case of a patient with a history of a Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) in the neck. Twelve months after this diagnosis a follow-up CT shows a large isolated tumor in the head of the pan- creas. Histological and immunohistochemical studies of specimen obtained through ultrasound-guided transabdominal biopsy, show similar characteristics as the primary MCC. To our knowledge twelve cases of a pancreatic metastasis of a MCC have been reported in English literature. A review of the literature was performed. (Acta gastroenterol. belg., 2015, 78, 340- 343).