Skip to main content
Log in

Acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas in childhood

  • Case report
  • Published:
International Cancer Conference Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A 12-year-old Japanese girl with pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma is presented. She was referred to our hospital with upper abdominal pain on exercise. Computed tomography scan showed a 17 × 17 × 12 cm heterogeneous mass in the right abdominal cavity centering around the pancreatic head to the anterior pararenal space. We performed pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy, because the tumor invaded the pancreatic head. Macroscopically, the tumor was a 19 × 18 cm, encapsulated mass derived from the pancreatic head without invasion to the surrounding organs, and consisted of solid and cystic portions. Histological examination showed tumor cells proliferating in an acinar pattern and invading the duodenal muscle layer. Immunohistochemically, tumor cells were positive for α1 trypsin and α1 chymotrypsin. From these histological findings, we diagnosed the lesion as an acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas. We report this case of childhood acinar cell carcinoma, which is extremely rare, with a review of the literature.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Abbreviations

ACC:

Acinar cell carcinoma

AFP:

α-Fetoprotein

References

  1. Chen J, Baithun SI (1985) Morphological study of 391 cases of exocrine pancreatic tumors with special reference to the classification of exocrine pancreatic carcinoma. J Pathol 146:17–29

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Cubilla AL, Fitzgerrald PJ (1984) Tumors of the exocrine pancreas. In: Hartmann WH, Sobine LH (eds) Atlas of tumor pathology, 2nd ser, fasc 19. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Washington DC, pp 208–212

    Google Scholar 

  3. Kitagami H, Kondo S, Hirano S et al (2007) Acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas: clinical analysis of 115 patients from Pancreatic Cancer Registry of Japan Pancreas Society. Pancreas 35:42–46

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Wisnoski NC, Townsend CM, Nealon WH et al (2008) 672 Patients with acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas: a population-based comparison to pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Surgery 144:141–148

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Ellerkamp V, Warmann SW, Vorwerk P et al (2012) Exocrine pancreatic tumors in childhood in Germany. Pediatr Blood Cancer 58:366–371

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Dall’Igna P, Cecchetto G, Bisogno G et al (2010) Pancreatic tumors in children and adolescents: the Italian TREP project experience. Pediatr Blood Cancer 54:675–680

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Ichijima K, Akaishi K, Toyoda N et al (1985) Carcinoma of the pancreas with endocrine component in childhood. Am J Clin Pathol 83:95–100

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Matarazzo P, Tuli G, Tessaris D et al (2011) Cushing syndrome due to ectopic adrenocorticotropic hormone secretion in a 3-year-old child. J Pediatr Endocrinol Metab 24:219–222

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Tapia B, Ahrens W, Kenney B et al (2008) Acinar cell carcinoma versus solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas in children: a comparison of two rare and overlapping entitles with review of the literature. Pediatr Dev Pathol 11:384–390

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Illés G, Luczay A, Benyó G et al (2007) Cushing`s syndrome in a child with pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma. Endocr Pathol 18:95–102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Huang Y, Cao YF, Lin JL et al (2006) Acinar cell cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas in a 4-year-old child. Pancreas 33:311–312

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Rouleau C, Serre I, Roger P et al (2005) Acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas in a young patient with cells immunoreactive for somatostatin. Histopathology 48:306–309

    Google Scholar 

  13. Shorter NA, Glick RD, Klimstra DS et al (1967) Malignant pancreatic tumors in childhood and adolescence: the Memorial Sloan-Kettering experience, 1967 to present. J Pediatr Surg 37:887–892

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Kimstra DS, Heffess CS, Oertel JE et al (1992) Acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas. A clinicopathologic study of 28 cases. Am J Surg Pathol 16:815–837

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Lack EE, Cassady JR, Levey R et al (1983) Tumors of the exocrine pancreas in children and adolescents. A clinical and pathologic study of eight cases. Am J Surg Pathol 7:319–327

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Osborne BM, Culbert SJ, Cangir A et al (1977) Acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas in a 9-year-old child: case report with electron microscopic observations. South Med J 70:370–372

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Taxy JB (1976) Adenocarcinoma of the pancreas in childhood. Report of a case and a review of the English language literature. Cancer 37:1508–1518

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Wilander E, Sundström C, Meurling S et al (1976) A highly differentiated exocrine pancreatic tumour in a young boy. Acta Paediatr Scand 65:769–772

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Mah PT, Loo DC, Tock EP (1974) Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma in childhood. Am J Dis Child 128:101–104

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. d’Ambros G, del Prete L, Grimaldi C et al (2014) Pancreaticoduodenectomy for malignancies in children. J Pediatr Surg 49:534–538

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Sharma S, Agarwal S, Nagendla MK et al (2015) Omental acinar cell carcinoma of pancreatic origin in a child: a clinicopathological rarity. Pediatr Surg Int 32:307–311

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Shimizu E, Kikuyama M, Hashimoto M et al (1996) A case of alpha-fetoprotein-producing pancreatic carcinoma: review of 41 cases reported in Japan (in Japanese). Nihon Shokakibyo Gakkai Zasshi 93:921–926

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mitsuhiro Morikawa.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Morikawa, M., Nakazawa, T., Kato, S. et al. Acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas in childhood. Int Canc Conf J 5, 140–145 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13691-016-0245-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13691-016-0245-y

Keywords

Navigation