CASE REPORT

JOP. J Pancreas (Online) 2004; 5(6):512-515.

Anaplastic Pancreatic Carcinoma. A Case Report and Review of Literature

Manpreet K Chadha1, Charles LeVea2, Milind Javle1, Boris Kuvshinoff3, Rekha Vijaykumar4, Renuka Iyer1

1Departments of Medicine, 2Pathology, 3Surgery and 4Radiology, Roswell Park Cancer Institute. Buffalo, NY, USA

ABSTRACT

Context Anaplastic pancreatic carcinoma is an aggressive neoplasm with survival measurable in weeks. It presents as a large cystic mass with loco-regional and distant spread. Three histological types have been described: pleomorphic, spindle cell and sarcomatoid.

Case report We describe the case of a 74-year-old woman with pleomorphic anaplastic carcinoma of the pancreas diagnosed after laparoscopic biopsy. The patient had a rapid downhill course with progression of the disease and demise within 4 weeks after diagnostic laparoscopy.

Conclusion Due to the rapid spread of the disease, no effective cure exists for these tumors. A brief review of the histological and radiological findings and the possible mechanisms of the pathogenesis of anaplastic tumors is included in the discussion.

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Keywords Biopsy; Histology; Laparoscopy; Pancreatic Neoplasms; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Correspondence Milind Javle: milind.javle@roswellpark.org