Wang QY, Xia WH, Wan W, Liu JP. Pancreatic cancer initially presenting with acute renal infarction: A case report. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2025; 17(11): 112203 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i11.112203]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Jin-Peng Liu, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, No. 777 Xitai Road, Xi’an 710100, Shaanxi Province, China. lekai0822@163.com
Research Domain of This Article
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
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Case Report
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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/
Nov 15, 2025 (publication date) through Nov 13, 2025
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Publication Name
World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology
ISSN
1948-5204
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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Wang QY, Xia WH, Wan W, Liu JP. Pancreatic cancer initially presenting with acute renal infarction: A case report. World J Gastrointest Oncol 2025; 17(11): 112203 [DOI: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i11.112203]
World J Gastrointest Oncol. Nov 15, 2025; 17(11): 112203 Published online Nov 15, 2025. doi: 10.4251/wjgo.v17.i11.112203
Pancreatic cancer initially presenting with acute renal infarction: A case report
Qin-Yang Wang, Wei-Hu Xia, Wei Wan, Jin-Peng Liu
Qin-Yang Wang, Wei-Hu Xia, Wei Wan, Jin-Peng Liu, Department of Medical Oncology, Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, Xi’an 710100, Shaanxi Province, China
Co-first authors: Qin-Yang Wang and Wei-Hu Xia.
Author contributions: Wang QY and Xia WH contribute equally to this study as co-first authors; Wang QY and Xia WH contributed to conceive the research and drafting of the manuscript; Wan W performed the analyses and image editing; Liu JP contributed to conceptualization and supervision; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest are disclosed.
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: Jin-Peng Liu, MD, Department of Medical Oncology, Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital, No. 777 Xitai Road, Xi’an 710100, Shaanxi Province, China. lekai0822@163.com
Received: July 21, 2025 Revised: August 27, 2025 Accepted: October 17, 2025 Published online: November 15, 2025 Processing time: 116 Days and 14.7 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Pancreatic carcinoma is recognized as one of the most prothrombotic malignancies, carrying a high risk of thrombotic events, which may even precede the diagnosis of the underlying occult tumor. Acute renal infarction (ARI) as the initial presenting feature in patients with pancreatic cancer is a rare occurrence, and misdiagnosis is common during early evaluation.
CASE SUMMARY
We report a patient who presented with ARI as the initial manifestation prior to the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. The 50-year-old male was admitted to our emergency department with sharp, left-sided abdominal pain and was subsequently transferred to our department following the detection of a pancreatic space-occupying lesion on computed tomography (CT). CT angiography promptly identified the cause of his pain, confirming right renal infarction. Urgent interventional treatment was initiated to alleviate symptoms and restore renal perfusion. Despite aggressive thrombolytic and anticoagulant therapy, the thrombotic event rapidly worsened, leading to multiple cerebral infarctions. The patient’s condition ultimately deteriorated under palliative care.
CONCLUSION
This case illustrates that arterial thromboembolism, when diagnosed at an advanced stage of pancreatic cancer, appears to be a terminal event that portends a poor prognosis. Establishing an arterial thrombosis prediction model will potentially identify the profile of high-risk patients with thrombotic consequences for primary prevention.
Core Tip: We describe a 50-year-old male patient who presented with acute renal infarction as the initial manifestation prior to the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Given its low incidence and nonspecific clinical symptoms, diagnostic suspicion and prompt initial intervention are crucial for achieving a favorable clinical prognosis.
