Minute carcinoma of the pancreas presenting as pancreatic pleural effusion.

A 70-year-old Japanese man with no history of pancreatitis visited his local practitioner, complaining of dyspnea on effort. Left massive pleural effusion was detected and he was then referred to our hospital. A plain chest film showed marked left pleural effusion. Thoracentesis yielded 2000 ml of bloody fluid with high amylase content (22,665 IU/l). Endoscopic retrograde pancreatography revealed a tapered occlusion of the main pancreatic duct. Pancreatic cancer was suspected, and a distal pancreatectomy and a splenectomy were performed. Histologically, the diagnosis was ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, 5 x 6 mm in size, with regional lymph node metastasis. He has experienced no recurrence of cancer or pleural effusion since the operation.