title: Sarcomatoid (spindle cell) carcinoma of the pancreas: A case report and review of the literature.
abstract: Sarcomatoid (spindle cell) carcinoma of the pancreas is a rare, high-grade epithelial malignancy composed predominantly or exclusively of spindle cells demonstrating evidence of epithelial derivation, but no features indicative of a specific line of mesenchymal differentiation. The current study presents the case of an 85-year-old Caucasian male with a tumor mass in the body of the pancreas. The individual subsequently underwent a distal pancreatectomy, splenectomy and partial gastrectomy. Microscopic examination of the 3.3-cm mass located in the body of the pancreas revealed a small, but high-grade, adenocarcinomatous component that blended imperceptibly with malignant spindle cells. No light microscopic or immunohistochemical evidence of specific mesenchymal differentiation was identified, and the spindle cells, as in the case of the carcinoma, were diffusely keratin-positive. Sarcomatoid (spindle cell) carcinoma defined in this way rarely presents in the pancreas, with, to the best of our knowledge, only six cases reported in the English literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua Robert
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Kane
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
authors.forename: William B
authors.initials: WB
authors.lastname: Laskin
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Kristina A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Matkowskyj
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Celina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Villa
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611, USA.
authors.forename: Anjana V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Yeldandi
keywords: carcinosarcoma; immunohistochemistry; pancreas; sarcomatoid carcinoma; spindle cell carcinoma