Abstract
E-cadherin expression patterns in acinar cell carcinomas (ACCs) of the pancreas have not been well documented. Herein, we present a hitherto undescribed case of E-cadherin-negative ACC with a solid pseudopapillary growth pattern in a 65-year-old man. We used an antibody against the extracellular domain of E-cadherin. As a further unusual status in ACC, faint β-catenin expression was observed in the cytoplasm of carcinoma cells. Morphological distinction from a solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) of the pancreas might be problematic in such a case, because of their similarities concerned with the growth pattern and E-cadherin negativity. Without nuclear accumulation of β-catenin, a diagnosis of SPN was almost excluded. Immunoreactivity for trypsin and BCL10 made an accurate diagnosis of ACC to this case. The tumor recurred 10 months post-surgery as rapidly enlarging masses in the liver, presumably indicating the aggressiveness of the E-cadherin-negative phenotype among ACCs.
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The authors thank Ms. Toyoko Mizuno, Mr. Hiroaki Asai, and Ms. Mieko Ishida for their excellent technical assistance.
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Tajima, S., Waki, M., Azuma, M. et al. E-cadherin-negative acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas: report of a case showing a solid pseudopapillary growth pattern. Med Mol Morphol 49, 177–181 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-015-0095-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00795-015-0095-2