Adenosquamous Carcinoma of the Pancreas
Definition
- Carcinoma of the pancreas exhibiting both ductal and squamous differentiation
Alternate/Historical Names
- Adenoacanthoma
- Adenocarcinoma with squamous metaplasia
- Cancroide
- Mucoepidermoid carcinoma
Diagnostic Criteria
- Both ductal/glandular and squamous differentiation must be present
- Components may be mixed or separate
- Adenocarcinoma component resembles conventional ductal adenocarcinoma
- May be very focal
- Metastases may be purely adenocarcinoma
- Squamous component must comprise at least 30% of neoplasm
- May be keratinizing or non-keratinizing
- May predominate
Differential Diagnosis
| Pancreatoblastoma | Adenosquamous Carcinoma of the Pancreas |
|---|---|
| Predominantly pediatric but 1/3 in adults | Not reported under age 20 |
| Prominent acinar differentiation | No acinar differentiation |
| May have primitive round cell component | No primitive round cell component |
Metastatic squamous carcinoma
- Lacks even focal adenocarcinoma component
- History or clinical finding of a squamous primary
Clinical
- Age range 28-82
- Even worse prognosis than conventional ductal adenocarcinoma
Classification / Lists
Pancreatic Carcinomas
- Acinar cell carcinoma
- Adenosquamous carcinoma
- Colloid carcinoma
- Ductal adenocarcinoma
- Neuroendocrine carcinoma, poorly differentiated
- Well differentiated neuroendocrine (islet cell) tumors
- Hepatoid carcinoma
- Medullary carcinoma
- Micropapillary carcinoma
- Pancreatoblastoma
- Serous cystadenocarcinoma
- Signet ring cell carcinoma
- Undifferentiated carcinoma
- Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells
Bibliography
- Bosman FT, Carneiro F, Hruban RH, Thiese ND (Eds). WHO Classifiication of Tumors of the Digestive System, IARC, Lyon 2010.
- Solcia E, Capella C, Kloppel G . Tumors of the Pancreas, Atlas of Tumor Pathology, AFIP Third Series, Fascicle 20, 1997.
- Kardon DE, Thompson LD, Przygodzki RM, Heffess CS. Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas: a clinicopathologic series of 25 cases. Mod Pathol. 2001 May;14(5):443-51.
Author / Update
Robert V Rouse MD
Department of Pathology
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford CA 94305-5342
Original posting, updates: 1/3/08, 1/5/12
