Rare Pancreatic Tumors

Imaging Techniques and Biochemical Biomarkers: New Insights into Diagnosis of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic cancer (PaC) incidence is increasing, but our current screening and diagnostic strategies are not very effective. However, screening could be helpful in the case of PaC, as recent evidence shows that the disease progresses gradually. Unfortunately, there is no ideal screening method or program for detecting PaC in its early stages. Conventional imaging techniques, such as abdominal ultrasound, CT, MRI, and EUS, have not been successful in detecting early-stage PaC. On the other hand, biomarkers may be a more effective screening tool for PaC and have greater potential for further evaluation compared to imaging. Recent studies on biomarkers and artificial intelligence (AI)-enhanced imaging have shown promising results in the early diagnosis of PaC. In addition to proteins, non-coding RNAs are also being studied as potential biomarkers for PaC. This review consolidates the current literature on PaC screening modalities to provide an organized framework for future studies. While conventional imaging techniques have not been effective in detecting early-stage PaC, biomarkers and AI-enhanced imaging are promising avenues of research. Further studies on the use of biomarkers, particularly non-coding RNAs, in combination with imaging modalities may improve the accuracy of PaC screening and lead to earlier detection of this deadly disease.

Rare Non-Neuroendocrine Pancreatic Tumours

The most common tumour of the pancreas is ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). It remains one of the most lethal non-neuroendocrine solid tumours despite the use of a multi-approach strategy. Other, less-common neoplasms, which are responsible for 15% of pancreatic lesions, differ in treatment and prognosis. Due to the low incidence rate, there is a lack of information about the rarest pancreatic tumours. In this review, we described six rare pancreatic tumours: intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN), mucinous cystadenoma (MCN), serous cystic neoplasm (SCN), acinar cell carcinoma (ACC), solid pseudopapillary neoplasm (SPN) and pancreatoblastoma (PB). We distinguished their epidemiology, clinical and gross features, covered the newest reports about courses of treatment and systematised differential diagnoses. Although the most common pancreatic tumour, PDAC, has the highest malignant potential, it is still essential to properly classify and differentiate less-common lesions. It is vital to continue the search for new biomarkers, genetic mutations and the development of more specific biochemical tests for determining malignancy in rare pancreatic neoplasms.

Risk Assessment and Pancreatic Cancer: Diagnostic Management and Artificial Intelligence

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of the deadliest cancers, and it is responsible for a number of deaths almost equal to its incidence. The high mortality rate is correlated with several explanations; the main one is the late disease stage at which the majority of patients are diagnosed. Since surgical resection has been recognised as the only curative treatment, a PC diagnosis at the initial stage is believed the main tool to improve survival. Therefore, patient stratification according to familial and genetic risk and the creation of screening protocol by using minimally invasive diagnostic tools would be appropriate. Pancreatic cystic neoplasms (PCNs) are subsets of lesions which deserve special management to avoid overtreatment. The current PC screening programs are based on the annual employment of magnetic resonance imaging with cholangiopancreatography sequences (MR/MRCP) and/or endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). For patients unfit for MRI, computed tomography (CT) could be proposed, although CT results in lower detection rates, compared to MRI, for small lesions. The actual major limit is the incapacity to detect and characterize the pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) by EUS and MR/MRCP. The possibility of utilizing artificial intelligence models to evaluate higher-risk patients could favour the diagnosis of these entities, although more data are needed to support the real utility of these applications in the field of screening. For these motives, it would be appropriate to realize screening programs in research settings.

Neuroendocrine Tumor Arising within Mature Cystic Teratoma of the Pancreas: Literature Review and Case Report

Cystic teratomas are germ cell tumors most commonly found in the ovaries and testes. The pancreas, however, is very rare as a site of occurrence. Moreover, only two cases of cystic teratoma with concomitant neuroendocrine tumor have been reported to date. We report the case of a 33-year-old female who presented with abdominal pain. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the upper abdomen revealed an 85 mm cystic tumor in the head of the pancreas. Cystic teratoma and mucinous cystadenoma were suggested as differential diagnoses. Cytopathologic analysis of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration was consistent with mucinous cystadenoma. Therefore, the patient underwent surgical resection. Histologic analysis revealed a mature cystic teratoma of the pancreas with a concomitant neuroendocrine tumor. The patient is in great condition at 8 months follow-up. Cystic teratoma of the pancreas with a concomitant neuroendocrine tumor is an extremely rare condition. Surgical resection remains the mainstay of treatment as it provides a definitive diagnosis and no recurrences have been reported to date.

Microenvironmental Determinants of Pancreatic Cancer

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) belongs to the most lethal solid tumors in humans. A histological hallmark feature of PDAC is the pronounced tumor microenvironment (TME) that dynamically evolves during tumor progression. The TME consists of different non-neoplastic cells such as cancer-associated fibroblasts, immune cells, endothelial cells, and neurons. Furthermore, abundant extracellular matrix components such as collagen and hyaluronic acid as well as matricellular proteins create a highly dynamic and hypovascular TME with multiple biochemical and physical interactions among the various cellular and acellular components that promote tumor progression and therapeutic resistance. In recent years, intensive research efforts have resulted in a significantly improved understanding of the biology and pathophysiology of the TME in PDAC, and novel stroma-targeted approaches are emerging that may help to improve the devastating prognosis of PDAC patients. However, none of anti-stromal therapies has been approved in patients so far, and there is still a large discrepancy between multiple successful preclinical results and subsequent failure in clinical trials. Furthermore, recent findings suggest that parts of the TME may also possess tumor-restraining properties rendering tailored therapies even more challenging.

Pictorial Review of Rare Pancreatic Tumors and Tumor-Like Lesions

췌장에는 다양한 종류의 종양 및 종양 유사 병변들이 생길 수 있다. 이 가운데, 췌장선암은 췌장의 가장 흔한 종양으로서 일반적으로 췌장암이라고 하면 이 종양을 가리킨다. 최근에는 영상 검사의 기술적 진보와 이용이 증가하면서 췌장의 희귀 종양 및 종양 유사 병변들의 발견 빈도가 증가하고 있다. 췌장의 드문 종양 및 종양과 유사한 병변들은 치료 방침과 예후가 췌장선암과 다르기 때문에 이들 질환의 감별은 임상적으로 중요한 의의가 있다. 영상 검사는 포상세포암이나 신경초종 등의 희귀 종양 및 자가면역 췌장염 또는 염증성 거짓종양과 같은 종양 유사 병변들과 췌장선암의 감별 진단에 중요한 역할을 하지만 영상 소견만으로 이들 질환을 정확히 구분하는 것은 한계가 있다. 이 논문에서는 췌장에서 생길 수 있는 희귀 종양 및 종양 유사 병변들의 다양한 영상 소견들과 췌장선암과의 감별에 있어 도움이 되는 특징들을 제시하고자 한다.

Biochemical diagnostics of pancreatic cancer - Present and future

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers having an exceptionally high mortality rate. Despite a relatively low incidence (10th among cancers), it is the fourth leading cause of cancer-related deaths in most developed countries. Improving early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and strengthening the standardised comprehensive treatment remain the main focus of pancreatic cancer research. Tumor markers are usually tumor-associated proteins of clinical relevance in these patients. Although tumor markers carbohydrate antigen (CA 19-9) and carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA) are commonly used, neither demonstrate high diagnostic accuracy. Recently, hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs) and various enzymes have been reported as potential biomarkers for pancreatic cancer. These include macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), interleukin-3 (IL-3), macrophage inhibitory cytokine (MIC-1) and various enzymes (alcohol dehydrogenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase, lysosomal exoglycosidases). With the development of molecular technology, detecting K-ras mutation in serum via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is becoming more common and efficient. Because K-ras mutation rates are high in many cancers, some regard it as a potential tumor marker. Others have shown the value of serum miRNAs in detection of pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, there are currently no effective methods of sufficient diagnostic accuracy to detect early-stage surgically resectable pancreatic cancer. In this article we highlight these biomarkers and summarise recent developments in the diagnosis and treatment of pancreatic cancer.