Leiomyosarcoma arising in the pancreatic duct: a case report and review of the current literature.Case Rep Med. 2010;2010:252364. [PMID: 20589089 DOI: 10.1155/2010/252364]

Rare Solid Pancreatic Lesions on Cross-Sectional Imaging

Several solid lesions can be found within the pancreas mainly arising from the exocrine and endocrine pancreatic tissue. Among all pancreatic malignancies, the most common subtype is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), to a point that pancreatic cancer and PDAC are used interchangeably. But, in addition to PDAC, and to the other most common and well-known solid lesions, either related to benign conditions, such as pancreatitis, or not so benign, such as pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (pNENs), there are solid pancreatic lesions considered rare due to their low incidence. These lesions may originate from a cell line with a differentiation other than exocrine/endocrine, such as from the nerve sheath as for pancreatic schwannoma or from mesenchymal cells as for solitary fibrous tumour. These rare solid pancreatic lesions may show a behaviour that ranges in a benign to highly aggressive malignant spectrum. This review includes cases of an intrapancreatic accessory spleen, pancreatic tuberculosis, solid serous cystadenoma, solid pseudopapillary tumour, pancreatic schwannoma, purely intraductal neuroendocrine tumour, pancreatic fibrous solitary tumour, acinar cell carcinoma, undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclastic-like giant cells, adenosquamous carcinoma, colloid carcinoma of the pancreas, primary leiomyosarcoma of the pancreas, primary and secondary pancreatic lymphoma and metastases within the pancreas. Therefore, it is important to determine the correct diagnosis to ensure optimal patient management. Because of their rarity, their existence is less well known and, when depicted, in most cases incidentally, the correct diagnosis remains challenging. However, there are some typical imaging features present on cross-sectional imaging modalities that, taken into account with the clinical and biological context, contribute substantially to achieve the correct diagnosis.

Could the burden of pancreatic cancer originate in childhood?

The presence of pancreatic cancer during childhood is extremely rare, and physicians may be tempted to overlook this diagnosis based on age criteria. However, there are primary malignant pancreatic tumors encountered in pediatric patients, such as pancreatoblastoma, and tumors considered benign in general but may present a malignant potential, such as the solid pseudo-papillary tumor, insulinoma, gastrinoma, and vasoactive intestinal peptide secreting tumor. Their early diagnosis and management are of paramount importance since the survival rates tend to differ for various types of these conditions. Many pediatric cancers may present pancreatic metastases, such as renal cell carcinoma, which may evolve with pancreatic metastatic disease even after two or more decades. Several childhood diseases may create a predisposition for the development of pancreatic cancer during adulthood; hence, there is a need for extensive screening strategies and complex programs to facilitate the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare. Nevertheless, genetic studies highlight the fact the specific gene mutations and family aggregations may be correlated with a special predisposition towards pancreatic cancer. This review aims to report the main pancreatic cancers diagnosed during childhood, the most important childhood diseases predisposing to the development of pancreatic malignancies, and the gene mutations associates with pancreatic malignant tumors.

Pancreatic Leiomyosarcoma With Schistosomiasis Hematobia: A Case Report and Literature Review

Pancreatic leiomyosarcoma (PL) is a very rare, malignant neoplasm with a very poor prognosis. Here, we examine a novel case of PL with schistosomiasis hematobia. The patient had been initially misdiagnosed by the first magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The second imaging examination demonstrated an enlarged heterogeneous tumor mass in the body-tail of pancreas. Following image analysis, the patient underwent a pancreatectomy, splenectomy and lymph node dissections. Sixteen months after the tumor resection, follow-up computed tomography (CT) and MRI revealed tumor metastasis in the liver and lung. PL has non-specific clinical manifestations and imaging characteristics, making early diagnosis very challenging. When it is difficult to distinguish between benign and malignant pancreatic lesions, short-term imaging follow-up is preferred. In this case report, we discuss the relationship between PL and schistosomiasis hematobia.

Pancreatic leiomyosarcoma: a diagnostic challenge and literature review

A 71-year-old woman was referred with abdominal pain and weight loss. An abdominal CT showed a 5-cm heterogeneous mass in the head of the pancreas with involvement of the superior mesenteric vein and artery. Her carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA 19-9 were normal. Two endoscopic ultrasound/fine needle aspirates (EUS/FNAs) of the mass diagnosed her with a mesenchymal tumour of myogenic origin but did not show features of malignancy. Frozen section analysis of laparoscopic core biopsies also failed to show malignant features, hence requiring an open biopsy which confirmed the diagnosis of pancreatic leiomyosarcoma (PLMS). She was eventually treated with radiotherapy. To our knowledge this is the only case in recent English literature of inoperable locally advanced PLMS that has required an open biopsy to formalise the diagnosis despite prior EUS FNAs. We include a review of the literature, highlighting the deficiencies of various biopsy techniques.

Primary leiomyosarcoma of the pancreas: report of a case treated by local excision and review of the literature

Background

First described by Ross in 1951, primary pancreatic leiomyosarcoma is a rare mesenchymal tumour of the pancreas, with nonspecific clinical and radiological features and a poor prognosis, if unresectable.

Case report

A 60-year-old woman presented with abdominal pain. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scan detected a dishomogeneous egg-shaped 8-cm mass, arising from the pancreatic head, with duodenal compression, without dilation of the Wirsung duct. ¹⁸F-FDG positron-emission tomography (PET)-CT showed a moderate tracer uptake, and the endoscopic ultrasound (US) showed a hypoechoic lesion, arising from the duodenal wall, suspected to be a gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST). CEA, CA19-9, NSE, and chromogranin A were normal. At the surgical exploration, a 10-cm mass, adherent to the anterior aspect of the pancreatic head, was found. The lesion was easily separable from the duodenal wall and was totally excised. The frozen intraoperative examination showed a mesenchymal tumour, with spindle-shaped cells, suggesting that a GIST diagnosis was likely. Postoperative course was uneventful. Histology and immunohistochemistry demonstrated a well-differentiated leiomyosarcoma, with five to six mitotic counts per 10 high-power field (HPF) and proliferative index (MIB-1) 10 % (grade 2 according to Federation Nationale des Centres de Lutte Contre le Cancer (FNCLCC)), with positive smooth muscle actin, desmin, and caldesmon but negative CD117 (c-kit) and S-100. The patient is alive and asymptomatic 19 months after surgery, without evidences of disease.

Conclusions

In the English literature, only 44 cases of primary pancreatic leiomyosarcoma have been reported. If a pancreatic mass suspected for primary pancreatic leiomyosarcoma has no adjacent organ/vessel invasion or distant metastases, surgical resection is the therapy of choice.

Clinical characteristics and prognosis of primary leiomyosarcoma of the pancreas: a systematic review

Background

Primary pancreatic leiomyosarcoma (PLMS) is rare. The clinical characteristics and prognosis is still not completely understood. The aim of the present study is to identify the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes of PLMS from the existing reported cases in different scientific literature.

Methods

PLMS cases reported in Chinese and English journals were collected and reviewed. Clinical features and long-term outcomes of these cases were summarized and analyzed statistically.

Results

A total of 69 cases reported from both Chinese and English journals were included in the present study. An equal incidence in gender was observed. The mean age was 53.9 ± 14.7 years. The most common symptoms were abdominal mass, abdominal pain, and weight loss. The mean size of the tumor was 11.4 ± 7.1 cm. The incidence of PLMS between the head and body-tail of the pancreas had a similar pattern. Twenty-five percent of patients had distant metastasis and 19% of patients had adjacent organs/vessels invasion at the time of diagnosis. But lymph node metastasis was documented in only one (1.5%) patient. The median survival time was 48 months. The overall 1-, 3-, 5-, and 10-year survival rates were 66.6%, 51.2%, 43.9%, and 29.3%, respectively. Results from the multivariate analysis showed that non-radical resection (P = 0.000; hazard ratio (HR) 5.128; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.041-12.987) was the independent adverse prognostic factor. Adjacent organs/vessels invasion (yes) may be considered as an another potential independent adverse prognostic factor (P = 0.071; HR 2.708; 95% CI 0.981-7.474).

Conclusions

PLMS is rare without specific clinical features. PLMS is an aggressive tumor and has a poor prognosis. Radical resection can prolong survival time of the patients.

Metastatic leiomyosarcoma of the intrapancreatic bile duct

We report the case of a patient with a history of surgically treated pulmonary leiomyosarcoma, presenting with recurrent acute cholangitis and metastatic leiomyosarcoma of the common bile duct. Preoperative examinations had revealed a high grade malignant neoplasm and bilateral lung metastases. The patient underwent pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy and survived for 5.5 years after the first diagnosis.

[Leiomyosarcoma of the pancreas: a tumor with poor prognosis--clinical case and review of the literature]

Le léiomyosarcome (LMS) primitif du pancréas est une tumeur mésenchymateuse rare (0,1% des tumeurs pancréatiques), seulement 47 cas ont été publiés la littérature depuis 1951. Le diagnostique est basée sur l’immunohistochimie. C’est une tumeur très agressive et souvent découverte à un stade avancé. Nous rapportant le cas d’un patient de 40 ans qui présentait un léiomyosarcome primitif du pancréas de la queue du pancréas avec envahissement de la rate et la partie gauche du colon transverse. Une spléno-pancréatectomie caudale carcinologique avec une colectomie segmentaire était réalisée. Des nodules péritonéaux ont apparus 2 mois après l’intervention au niveau du site opératoire et le paient est décédé 3 mois en postopératoire. Le LMS primitif du pancréas doit être évoqués devant les volumineuses tumeurs du pancréas. Une chirurgie carcinologique est le seul traitement curatif. Le pronostic de ces tumeurs est mauvais et la médiane de survie de ces tumeurs ne dépasse pas 2 ans.