Pancreatic adenocarcinoma: update on the surgical pathology of carcinomas of ductal origin and PanINs.
Pancreatic cancer is the fourth leading cause of cancer death in the US. Most pancreatic cancers are infiltrating ductal adenocarcinomas. The careful application of well-defined morphologic criteria can be used to differentiate between infiltrating ductal adenocarcinoma and reactive glands. While most pancreatic cancers are ductal adenocarcinomas, a number of histologically defined variants have been described. These are important to recognize because they have distinct clinical pathologic features. Pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) is the presumed precursor lesion to infiltrating ductal adenocarcinoma, and PanIN lesions can mimic infiltrating cancer.
Hruban
Ralph H
RH
Departments of Pathology and Oncology, The Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, Baltimore, MD, USA. rhruban@jhmi.edu
Fukushima
Noriyoshi
N
D021441:Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D010183:Pancreatic Ducts / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D010340:Pathology, Surgical / Q000639:trends*; D011230:Precancerous Conditions / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery