Fact-sheet: Pancreatic lipomatosis
Updated on 05/26/2025 at 8:52 AM
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Definition
Pancreatic lipomatosis: "pancreatic steatosis." Accumulation of fat within the pancreatic parenchyma.
Clinical features
Not related to alcohol consumption (non-alcoholic fatty pancreas, NAFP).
Asymptomatic or related to the underlying etiology
Etiologies:
- Metabolic syndrome: obesity, dyslipidemia, diabetes
- Congenital: Cystic fibrosis (lipomatous pseudohypertrophy)
- Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (short stature)
- Johanson-Blizzard syndrome
- Carboxyl ester lipase mutation
Ultrasound
Fatty pancreas
CT
- Focal involvement: pseudotumoral appearance (ventral/dorsal pancreas/focal form/sparing around the CBD).
- Diffuse involvement: total pancreatic fatty replacement (may occur in the setting of cystic fibrosis or genetic pancreatitis).
MRI
same as CT
Differential diagnosis
- Age-related atrophy and fatty involution
- Pancreatic tumor