Early pregnancy masquerading as a marker for malignancy in a young woman with curable neoplasm of the pancreas.

The so-called solid or cystic papillary neoplasm of the pancreas is a rare type of tumour occurring almost exclusively in young women. This neoplasm is not associated with any endocrine dysfunction, and typically it has assumed considerable size when discovered. Since most cases are curable by surgery, their distinction from other types of neoplasms with less favourable prognosis is important'. The case reported here illustrates a potential pitfall in this context.