A focal mass-forming autoimmune pancreatitis mimicking pancreatic cancer with obstruction of the main pancreatic duct.

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND: Autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) is a rare disease that closely mimics pancreatic cancer (PC) in its presentation. It is very important for clinicians to distinguish one from the other because their treatment and prognosis are vastly different. Typical radiological imaging findings, in particular observation of diffusely or segmentally narrowed main pancreatic duct (MPD) with an irregular wall by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), are essential for making the diagnosis of AIP. On the other hand, MPD obstruction is one of the most frequent features on ERCP.

CASE REPORT: We report a rare case of a patient with focal mass-forming AIP strongly suspected of being PC because of MPD obstruction on ERCP.

CONCLUSION: It was difficult to distinguish PC from AIP with current diagnostic modalities. We will continue to make an effort to distinguish between the two disorders to prevent unnecessary surgery.