Pancreatic Mixed Acinar-neuroendocrine-ductal Carcinoma: A Case Report and Literature Review

Intern Med. 2023 Nov 15;62(22):3347-3353. doi: 10.2169/internalmedicine.1298-22. Epub 2023 Apr 7.

Abstract

Pancreatic mixed neoplasms are very rare. We herein report a unique case of pancreatic mixed acinar-neuroendocrine-ductal carcinoma with trilineage differentiation. The patient was an 83-year-old woman referred to our hospital due to anemia and a pancreatic mass. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed a 60-mm mass in the pancreas. Subtotal stomach-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy was performed. The postoperative pathological diagnosis was mixed acinar-neuroendocrine-ductal carcinoma. Postoperative chemotherapy was conducted according to the adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine carcinoma protocols. The patient died 26 months postoperatively. Choosing appropriate chemotherapy for mixed neoplasms is difficult. Cancer gene panel testing, if possible, may support the choice of therapeutic agents.

Keywords: acinar cell carcinoma (ACC); chemotherapy; mixed acinar-neuroendocrine-ductal carcinoma; mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasm (MiNEN); neuroendocrine carcinoma (NEC); pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

Publication types

  • Review
  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Carcinoma, Acinar Cell* / diagnosis
  • Carcinoma, Acinar Cell* / surgery
  • Carcinoma, Ductal*
  • Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine* / diagnostic imaging
  • Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine* / genetics
  • Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine* / pathology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms* / diagnostic imaging
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms* / genetics
  • Pancreatic Neoplasms* / surgery

Supplementary concepts

  • Adenocarcinoid tumor