Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related death and the second gastrointestinal cancer-related death in the United States. Early detection and accurate diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer are paramount in guiding treatment plans, as surgical resection can provide the only potential cure for this disease. The overall prognosis of pancreatic cancer is poor even in patients with resectable disease. The 5-year survival after surgical resection is ~10% in node-positive disease compared to ~30% in node-negative disease. The advancement of imaging studies and the multidisciplinary approach involving radiologists, gastroenterologists, advanced endoscopists, medical, radiation, and surgical oncologists have a major impact on the management of pancreatic cancer. Endoscopic ultrasonography is essential in the diagnosis by obtaining tissue (FNA or FNB) and in the loco-regional staging of the disease. The advancement in EUS techniques has made this modality a critical adjunct in the management process of pancreatic cancer. In this review article, we provide an overall description of the role of endoscopic ultrasonography in the diagnosis and staging of pancreatic cancer.

Hepatobiliary involvement by malignant lymphoma is usually a secondary manifestation of systemic disease, whereas primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the extrahepatic biliary ducts is an extremely rare entity. We describe the case of a 57-year-old man who presented with an acute onset of obstructive jaundice and severe itching. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed intrahepatic and common hepatic ducts dilatation. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography showed a mid-common bile duct stricture. The patient was presumed to have cholangiocarcinoma of the common bile duct, and an en bloc resection of the tumor with Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy and porta-hepatis lymph nodes dissection was performed. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry revealed a large B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The patient received six cycles of combination chemotherapy using cyclophosphamide, vincristine, prednisone, and rituximab (CVP-R) protocol, and after a 5-year follow-up he is still in complete remission. We also reviewed the cases published from 1982 to 2012, highlighting the challenges in reaching a correct preoperative diagnosis and the treatment modalities used in each case.

Amebiasis is a parasitic infection caused by the protozoanEntamoeba histolytica. While most infections are asymptomatic, the disease could manifest clinically as amebic dysentery and/or extraintestinal invasion in the form of amebic liver abscess or other more rare manifestations such as pulmonary, cardiac, or brain involvement. Herein we are reporting a case of a 24-year-old male with history of Down syndrome who presented with severe right side pneumonia complicated with multicystic empyema resistant to regular medical therapy. Further investigation revealed a positive pleural fluid forE. histolyticacysts and trophozoites. The patient was diagnosed with primary pleuropulmonary amebiasis and he responded promptly to surgical drainage and metronidazole therapy. In patients from endemic areas all physicians should keep a high index of suspicion of amebiasis as a cause of pulmonary disease.

Background. Adult intussusception is a rare entity representing less than 1% of all intestinal obstructions. Diagnosis of the condition is difficult requiring a high index of suspicion and the utilization of imaging studies, especially CT scans. Diagnostic laparoscopy and/or exploratory laparotomy can be used as a diagnostic and therapeutic intervention. In over 90% of cases, an underlying lead point is identified. In the patient described here, it was a gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), a relatively rare mesenchymal tumor comprising only 0.2–1.0% of the gastrointestinal tract neoplasms and believed to originate from neoplastic transformation of the interstitial cells of Cajal. GISTs may occur anywhere along the gastrointestinal tract, but most commonly arise in the stomach and small intestine. Literature review revealed only few cases reporting GISTs as a leading point of adult's intussusception.Case Presentation. In this report, we are presenting a rare case of jejunojejunal intussusception in a 78-year-old female patient with a GIST located in the terminal jejunum being the leading point, demonstrating the importance of imaging studies, especially CT scan, laparoscopy, and exploratory laparotomy as diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

Somatostatinoma is a rare neuroendocrine tumor with an incidence rate of 1 in 40 million people. It presents mostly as asymptomatic tumor diagnosed incidentally on imaging or surgery when evaluating or treating possible causes of abdominal pain. It also can present with vague symptoms, or as a clinical triad of glucose intolerance, steatorrhea, and achlorhydria. The majority of somatostatinomas are present in the pancreatic head, followed by the duodenum, the pancreatic tail, and rarely the ampulla of Vater. The prognosis is poor as more than 77% of cases present as advanced disease with local invasion or distant metastasis. Surgical resection is the main treatment for early stage disease. Other treatment options include somatostatin analogue, molecular targeted therapy, and cytotoxic chemotherapy. The scarcity of somatostatinoma cases led to the lack of fully formulated treatment options. Herein, we present a 43-year old male patient who was referred by his primary care physician to our gastroenterology clinic due to elevated liver function test and double-duct sign on CT scan. We performed an ERCP, which revealed 2 cm ampullary lesion with upstream obstruction. Biopsies were taken and histopathology was unrevealing. He underwent a laparoscopic pancreaticoduodenectomy with histopathology revealed stage IIb somatostatinoma. Treating physicians should hold a high index of suspicion and maintain a broad differential diagnosis of elevated liver enzymes.