Suárez M, Simón S, Martínez R, Crespo J. Acute pancreatitis secondary to small-cell lung cancer metastasis: A case report and literature review. World J Clin Cases 2025; 13(27): 107805 [DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i27.107805]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Miguel Suárez, MD, PhD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Gastroenterology, Virgen de la Luz Hospital, 1 Hermandad Donantes De Sangre, Cuenca 16002, Castille-La Mancha, Spain. msuarezmatias@sescam.jccm.es
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Sep 26, 2025; 13(27): 107805 Published online Sep 26, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i27.107805
Acute pancreatitis secondary to small-cell lung cancer metastasis: A case report and literature review
Miguel Suárez, Soraya Simón, Raquel Martínez, JAS Crespo
Miguel Suárez, Raquel Martínez, Department of Gastroenterology, Virgen de la Luz Hospital, Cuenca 16002, Castille-La Mancha, Spain
Miguel Suárez, Raquel Martínez, Medical Analysis Expert Group, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Cuenca 16071, Castille-La Mancha, Spain
Miguel Suárez, Raquel Martínez, Medical Analysis Expert Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo 45071, Castille-La Mancha, Spain
Soraya Simón, JAS Crespo, Department of Oncology, Virgen de la Luz Hospital, Cuenca 16002, Castille-La Mancha, Spain
Author contributions: Suárez M, Martínez R, Simón S and Crespo JAS participated in the design, editing, and data collection of the manuscript; Suárez M, Martínez R and Simón S contributed to the review of the literature and writing; All authors have reviewed and approved the paper.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Miguel Suárez, MD, PhD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Gastroenterology, Virgen de la Luz Hospital, 1 Hermandad Donantes De Sangre, Cuenca 16002, Castille-La Mancha, Spain. msuarezmatias@sescam.jccm.es
Received: March 31, 2025 Revised: April 22, 2025 Accepted: June 19, 2025 Published online: September 26, 2025 Processing time: 129 Days and 19.1 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Acute pancreatitis (AP) is commonly encountered in gastroenterology, with biliary and alcohol-related causes being predominant. Among less frequent etiologies, metabolic and drug-induced origin are the most prevalent. As an exception, non-pancreatobiliary malignancies may trigger AP, representing less than 1% of cases. We present a case of AP secondary to an uncommon oncologic etiology.
CASE SUMMARY
We describe the case of a 50-year-old male recently diagnosed with small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). The patient was admitted to the emergency department with acute abdominal pain and subsequently diagnosed with AP. He was hospitalized under the care of the gastroenterology service. During the etiological workup, metastatic pancreatic lesions were identified on imaging, which had not been observed on the initial cancer staging. Following resolution of the initial episode, oral intake was introduced, but the patient experienced recurrent abdominal pain and laboratory abnormalities consistent with new episodes of AP. This pattern repeated over the following days. After several episodes, and with suspicion of a metastatic origin, the case was discussed in multidisciplinary meeting. In agreement with the patient and given the need to initiate treatment for the primary tumor as well, chemotherapy was started. This treatment successfully alleviated symptoms, allowing dietary progression without complications and discharge from the hospital.
CONCLUSION
Oncologic treatment can be considered as part of the therapeutic approach in AP secondary to SCLC metastasis, especially chemotherapy.
Core Tip: Acute pancreatitis secondary to pancreatic metastases from small-cell lung cancer is an extremely rare entity, with few cases reported in the literature. This case highlights the importance of considering metastatic involvement in unexplained acute pancreatitis and reinforces the role of imaging for early diagnosis. Our findings suggest that targeted oncologic therapy, particularly chemotherapy, may be considered part of the first-line treatment in these situations. Further studies are needed to establish standardized management protocols and improve outcomes in this challenging clinical scenario.
