Acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas: clinical analysis of 115 patients from Pancreatic Cancer Registry of Japan Pancreas Society.
OBJECTIVE
Acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) of the pancreas is a rare tumor, and many aspects remain unclear because no large-scale clinical studies have been conducted.


METHODS
The present study investigated the clinical characteristics, treatment, and therapeutic outcomes of 115 patients registered in the Pancreatic Cancer Registry of the Japan Pancreas Society, and therapeutic plans were reviewed.


RESULTS
Although ACC has been associated with advanced stage and poor prognosis, this tumor was resectable in 76.5% of the patients, and the 5-year survival rate after resection was favorable, being 43.9%.


CONCLUSIONS
Confirming the diagnosis of ACC preoperatively is difficult, but this diagnosis should be kept in mind while planning surgery for ordinary pancreatic cancer. Once the diagnosis has been confirmed, a possibility of surgical resection should be pursued to achieve better prognosis. If ACC is unresectable or recurrent, chemotherapy is likely to prove useful. Multidisciplinary therapy centering on the role of surgery will need to be established.
Kitagami
Hidehiko
H
Department of Surgical Oncology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan. kitagami@phoenix-c.or.jp
Kondo
Satoshi
S
Hirano
Satoshi
S
Kawakami
Hiroshi
H
Egawa
Shinichi
S
Tanaka
Masao
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D018267:Carcinoma, Acinar Cell / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D011379:Prognosis; D012042:Registries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor