title: Resectable pleomorphic giant cell carcinoma of the pancreas.
abstract: We present a 72-yr-old woman who underwent surgical resection of a large pancreatic tumor. On preoperative imaging, an intratumoral cavity containing necrotic tissue was noted, mimicking the appearance of a cystic tumor. There was no invasion of adjacent organs nor distant metastasis, and histopathologic examination revealed the tumor to be a giant cell carcinoma. Postoperatively, the patient has been followed for 1.5 yr without evidence of recurrence. Giant cell carcinoma generally is associated with a poor prognosis, and patients usually die within months despite intensive multimodality therapy. Some patients with giant cell carcinomas, however, achieve long-term survival when invasion of adjacent organs and distant metastases are absent. Surgical resection is the appropriate treatment for tumors with these favorable characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka, Japan. takatsugu@msic.med.osaka-cu.ac.jp
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirohashi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Uenishi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shuto
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kubo
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kinoshita
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000792:Angiography; D018286:Carcinoma, Giant Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed