Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) of the pancreas are a risk factor for the development of adenocarcinoma. However, the presence of a component of sarcomatoid carcinoma in the malignant tumor has rarely been described in the literature. A 30-year-old Chinese woman was admitted to our hospital with vague abdominal pain and a poor appetite for 2 months. Computed tomography revealed a huge, unilocular, solid-cystic mass in the pancreatic body, and tail. The patient underwent an en bloc resection of the distal pancreatic tumor with splenectomy and regional lymphadenectomy. Pathologic examination revealed an IPMN associated tubular adenocarcinoma containing a component of sarcomatoid (spindle-shaped cell) carcinoma. Immunohistochemical results revealed that the mononuclear spindle-shaped cells were positive for both pan-cytokeratin and vimentin. There was no evidence of perineural or vascular infiltration, lymph nodal metastasis, or positive surgical margins. The patient developed local recurrence 3 months after surgery for which she received chemoradiotherapy at another hospital. Distant metastases were detected 6 months after the surgery and the patient expired 9 months after surgical resection. We concluded that the presence of sarcomatoid change in IPMN-associated pancreatic adenocarcinoma may indicate poor prognosis.
Keywords: IPMNs, Sarcomatoid carcinoma; Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm; Pancreas; Prognosis; Spindle cell carcinoma.
© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of University of Washington.