Intrapancreatic schwannoma diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration cytology

Abstract

Schwannoma is a tumor of neuro-ectodermal origin, usually occuring in the head and neck and extremities. A retroperitoneal, and particularly intra-pancreatic presentation is very rare, and poses a clinical and diagnostic challenge. We report a case of a male patient who underwent an Endoscopic Ultrasound-guided Fine Needle Aspiration (EUS-FNA) biopsy of a hypoechoic, intra-pancreatic mass. The onsite cytological evaluation was consistent with a spindle cell neoplasm. Further evaluation, aided by immunohistochemical stains, defined the mass as a Schwannoma. The patient then underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy and the histopathological diagnosis of the surgical specimen confirmed the cytological diagnosis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of intra-pancreatic Schwannoma diagnosed preoperatively by EUS-FNA cytology.