title: Metastatic pancreatic carcinoma presenting as colon carcinoma.
abstract: Determining the origin of poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas remains a challenge for the pathologist. This manuscript reports the use of a panel of specific immunohistochemical stains to determine the primary site of a tumor in the colon. A 45-year-old man had a right hemicolectomy for adenocarcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining documented that the lesion was a metastasis from a primary pancreatic adenocarcinoma--an unusual pattern of spread. The case emphasizes the important use of immunohistochemistry in identifying the primary source of lesions, allowing for appropriate treatment and staging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Lab Medicine and Surgery, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bellows
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gage
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.forename: Curt
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McCarty
authors.forename: Salima
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haque
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary*; D018395:CA-19-9 Antigen / Q000378:metabolism; D003082:Colectomy; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D018395:CA-19-9 Antigen