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Case Reports
. 2014 Nov 21;20(43):16381-6.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i43.16381.

A huge adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas with sarcomatoid change: an unusual case report

Bao-Chun Lu  1 , Chen Wang  1 , Jian-Hua Yu  1 , Zhi-Hong Shen  1 , Jian-Hui Yang  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A huge adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas with sarcomatoid change: an unusual case report

Bao-Chun Lu et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Adenosquamous carcinoma rarely occurs in the pancreas, and is characterized by the presence of cellular components from both duct adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma. Here, we describe a rare case of pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma with sarcomatous change. Immunohistochemistry showed that the sarcomatous lesion lost the epithelial marker and aberrantly expressed of acquired mesenchymal markers, which indicated that this special histological phenotype may be attributed to epithelial-mesenchymal transition. This case also indicated that a routine radical surgery without aggressive treatment strategies was still appropriate for adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas with sarcomatoid change.

Keywords: Adenosquamous carcinoma; Epithelial-mesenchymal transition; Histopathological types; Pancreatic tumors; Sarcomatoid change.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Imaging and pathological diagnosis of the neoplasm. A: Contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan of lesion, arrow: superior mesenteric artery; B: Magnetic resonance imaging scan of lesion; C: the resected specimen in operation; D-F: Pathological examination identified three different cellular components within the lesion, including adenocarcinoma (D), squamous carcinoma (E) and sarcomatoid change (F).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Immunohistochemistry of different cellular components within the lesion. A, B: cytokeratin 7 was examined in the lesion of adenocarcinoma (A) and squamous carcinoma (B); C, D: Carcinoma antigen 19-9 was examined in the lesion of adenocarcinoma (C) and squamous carcinoma (D); E, F: Vimentin was examined in the lesion of adenocarcinoma (E) and sarcomatoid change (F); G, H: E-cadherin was examined in the lesion of adenocarcinoma (G) and sarcomatoid change (H); I, J: p63 was examined in the lesion of squamous carcinoma (I) and sarcomatoid change (J).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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