Does Having Heterogenous, Hypoechoic Mass Near Head Of Pancreas Might Lead To Cancer?

Posted on Sat, 1 Mar 2014

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sat, 1 Mar 2014 Answered on

Fri, 21 Mar 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : My father has a history of chronic pancreatitis, pseudosyst, smoking and alcohol abuse, bile duct stones and kidney stones. He is in the hospital now and they did a CT because of pain. Found a 3.2 x 2.8 cm heterogenous, hypoechoic mass bear head of pancreas. However his CA19-9 is normal. Is tgere a chance it is still cancer? He is sxheduled gor ercp biopsy in two days. What else could it be. It is not a cyst. He is 68.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Klerida Shehu (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Causes for heterogenous, hypoechoic mass in pancre Detailed Answer: Hi, I have gone through the medical history of your father and feel sorry for the situation he is in. Having heterogenous, hypoechoic mass near head of pancreas might indicate for cancer. Although CA 19-9 is the confirmatory test for cancer. One patient might still develop cancer although CA 19-9 is normal. However, there are other diseases to be excluded as well including: - ampuloma - chronic pancreatitis associated with pseudocyst. Usually, chronic pancreatitis is associated with calcifications that can be seen as pseudocyst. I suggest to wait for the biopsy results. You can then, upload them and send to me for further evaluation. Hope it was of help! Dr.Klerida

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar