Rare pancreatic carcinosarcoma in a patient with medical history of esophageal cancer: A case report and literature review

• Published in: Medicine (Baltimore) Vol. 98; no. 16; p. e15238
• Main Authors: Liu, Yang, Hao, Han, Guo, Xiaowan, Xu, Jieping, Kang, Lin, Zheng, Guona, Zhao, Huanfen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc 01-04-2019; Wolters Kluwer Health
• Subjects: Aged; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Carcinosarcoma - diagnostic imaging; Carcinosarcoma - pathology; Clinical Case Report; Esophageal Neoplasms - pathology; Esophagus - pathology; Humans; Male; Neoplasms, Second Primary - diagnostic imaging; Neoplasms, Second Primary - pathology; Pancreas - pathology; Pancreatic Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Pancreatic Neoplasms - pathology
• ISSN: 0025-7974; 1536-5964
• DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000015238

Pancreatic carcinosarcoma (PCS) is a very rare pancreatic cancer with an extremely poor prognosis. Interestingly, PCS can coexist with other metachronous malignant cancers. Here we report a case of PCS combined with esophageal cancer (EC).
The patient was a 66-year-old man who presented with abdominal pain and progressive nausea. He had undergone esophagectomy for EC 5 years previously.
Both EC and PCS were confirmed via postoperative pathological diagnosis.
Owing to the patient's previous esophagectomy for EC, pancreaticoduodenectomy for the PCS could not be performed. Instead, he underwent cholecystectomy with bile duct-jejunum Roux-en-Y anastomosis and radioactive seed implantation.
The patient is still alive for >1 year.
To our knowledge, this is the first report of PCS combined with EC and thus of metachronous multiple primary carcinoma. A detailed literature review of the clinical and histologic features of PCS reveals important information about the epidemiology and biology of this rare disease.