J Korean Pain Soc.  2004 Dec;17(2):271-274. 10.3344/jkps.2004.17.2.271.

Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer in the Patient with Midback Pain: A case report

• Lee CJ
• Lee SC
• Lee PB
• Seo MS
• Oh YS

• KMID: 2104870
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3344/jkps.2004.17.2.271

Abstract

A 61-year-old woman complained of midback pain, which had started 3 months previously, but the pain had not responded to previous treatments, such as trigger point injection (TPI), acupuncture, and prolotherapy. She had aching, lancinating, continuous deep pain, independent of the T6-T10 spine area position. This pain character was thought to be a referred pain of visceral origin, and further evaluation was recommended. As a result, pancreatic body mass information was obtained from an abdominal computed tomographic image, and she was diagnosed with a pancreatic adenocarcinoma from a needle aspiration biopsy. Celiac plexus block was performed with alcohol, after which the midback pain was reduced. Midback pain may be the only symptom of visceral diseases, so the referred pain from a visceral structure must be considered as the cause of the back pain when mechanical, rheumatologic, infectious, metabolic and neoplastic origins have been eliminated as possible sources of the pain.

Keyword

midback pain; pancreatic cancer; referred pain

MeSH Terms

Acupuncture
Adenocarcinoma
Back Pain
Biopsy, Needle
Celiac Plexus
Diagnosis*
Female
Humans
Middle Aged
Needles
Pain, Referred
Pancreatic Neoplasms*
Spine
Trigger Points