Unilateral fasciitis of the lower leg: a paraneoplastic manifestation of an occult pancreatic tumor

J Clin Rheumatol. 2006 Jun;12(3):139-41. doi: 10.1097/01.rhu.0000222005.15154.26.

Abstract

We report an elderly woman with a 3-month history of abdominal pain and painful swelling of her right lower leg. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed extensive fasciitis of the right superficial and deep crural fasciae. Endoscopic ultrasonography identified a tumor in the tail region of the pancreas with regional lymphatic nodal disease and suspicion of liver metastasis. The temporal relationship between the fasciitis and the pancreatic tumor suggests cancer-associated fasciitis-panniculitis syndrome. We report for the first time the incidence of the fasciitis-panniculitis syndrome in a patient with a previously undiagnosed solid pancreatic tumor.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Fasciitis / diagnosis
  • Fasciitis / etiology*
  • Fasciitis / pathology
  • Fatal Outcome
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Leg*
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Middle Aged
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / complications*
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms / pathology
  • Ultrasonography / methods