Pancreatic cancer with ovarian metastasis: cases report and literature review

Abstract

Background: Pancreatic cancer with ovarian metastases is rare and easily misdiagnosed. Patients with ovarian metastases are first diagnosed with ovarian cancer and may miss the opportunity to receive surgical operation. We report 7 rare cases of ovarian metastases secondary to pancreatic adenocarcinoma and review the literature to analyze clinical characteristics, diagnostic methods, and potential therapeutic strategies for the rare malignancy. Cases Summary: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 7 female patients with ovarian metastases of primary pancreatic cancer who were admitted to our hospital from January 01, 1985, to April 1, 2020. These 7 patients were diagnosed with ovarian metastasis at an average age of 52.28 (38–69) years. The reason for the patient’s visit was generally a mass in the lower abdomen and/or abdominal pain. Six of them had significantly higher serum Carbohydrate antigen19-9 (CA19-9) levels, 6 patients had pancreatic tumors located in the body or tail, and 1 patient had one in the head of the pancreas. All patients underwent excision of ovarian tumors and resection or biopsy of pancreatic tumors. Five patients had pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), and 2 had pancreatic cystadenocarcinoma (PCC), all of which were revealed by the pathological results. Ovarian tumors were assessed by pathology and were consistent with pancreatic metastasis. Currently, all 7 patients have died (follow-up to January 2, 2021). The median survival time for all patients was 13.7 months (2.9–27 months). Conclusions: For this rare tumor, elevated serum CA19-9 may indicate that the primary lesion is in the pancreas. Enhanced pancreatic Computed Tomography (CT) can facilitate diagnostic localization. In addition, if the pancreatic tumor cannot be removed, the ovarian tumor should still be resected to reduce the tumor load and improve the quality of life.