Pancreas
The pancreas hangs-out in the upper abdomen. It occasionally is afflicited by cancers, the most common of which is very fatal.
Pancreatic cytopathology is dealt with in the gastrointestinal cytopathology article.
A general introduction to gastrointestinal pathology is in the gastrointestinal pathology article.
Introduction
Normal anatomy
Divided into three portions: head, body & tail:[1]
- Head:
- Includes unicate process.
- Extends to the left edge of the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) - by definition.
- All of the SMV is with the head.
- Body:
- Right edge of the superior mesenteric vein to the left edge of aorta - by definition.
- All of the aorta is with the body.
- Right edge of the superior mesenteric vein to the left edge of aorta - by definition.
- Tail:
- Remainder of pancreas.
Pancreatic surgeries
Common pancreatic surgeries include:
- Whipple procedure (AKA pancreaticoduodenal resection) - includes duodenum and usually the distal stomach (antrum).
- Distal pancreatectomy.
- Removal of tail +/- body.
- Specimen usually comes with the spleen.
- Typically done form islet cell tumours.
- Total pancreatectomy.
- Specimen usually comes with the spleen.
Whipple procedure
- AKA pancreaticoduodenectomy.
Indications:
- Head of pancreas lesions, duodenal lesions.
- Proximal mucosal margin (stomach or duodenum).
- Distal mucosal margin (duodenum or jejunum).
- Bile duct margin.
- Pancreatic retroperitoneal (uncinate process) margin.
- At SB done on edge (not en face).
- Pancreatic neck transection margin (AKA distal pancreatic resection margin);[3] usu. en face and in toto.[4]
- Sometimes superior mesenteric vein (SMV).
- Rarely superior mesenteric artery (SMA) margin.
- Open the proximal (stomach) and distal (small bowel) stappled margins.
- Open the duodenum along it length on the anterior aspect.
- Open the stomach along the greater curvature.
- Join the cuts that open the stomach and duodenum.
General classification of pancreatic tumours
- Metstatses.
- Most common = renal cell carcinoma.
- Primary.
- Endocrine.
- Usually small as hormonally active.
- Exocrine.
- Endocrine.
Pancreas neoplasms in a table
Type | Key feature | Subtypes | Image | IHC | Detailed microscopic | Usual location | Other | DDx |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Serous tumours | cuboidal cells, clear cytoplasm | cystadenoma, borderline t., cystadenocarcinoma | [1], (WC), (WC) | IHC? | cuboidal cells, clear cytoplasm, central nucleus | body or tail | cystadenoma may be assoc. with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome | clear cell RCC, oligomucinous mucinous tumours |
Intraductal papillary mucinous tumour (IPMT) | mucin, no ovarian-like stroma | clear cell variant | (wjso.com), (upmc.edu) | IHC? | papillae, tall columnar mucin-producing cells | head | - | mucious neoplasms (other pancreatic, duodenal), intra-ampullary papillary-tubular neoplasm (see ampullary carcinoma) |
Mucinous tumour | mucin, ovarian-like stroma | cystadenoma, borderline t., cystadenocarcinoma | (WC), (WC) | IHC? | tall columnar mucin-producing cells, ovarian-like stroma | body or tail | - | IPMT, metastatic mucinous tumours |
Solid pseudopapillary tumour |
eosinophilic intracytoplasmic globules | clear cell variant (cytoplasm clear) | (WC), (bmj.com) | beta-catenin +ve, E-cadherin +ve, synaptophysin +ve, chromogranin -ve |
sheets of cells, focally loosely cohesive, eosinophilic cytoplasm, uniform nuclei with grooves | none (head, body or tail) | usu. younger women | ductal adenocarcinoma, neuroendocrine tumours |
Ductal adenocarcinoma | irregular shaped glands, cytologic atypia | mucinous, spindle cell, mixed ductal-endocrine | (WC), (WC) | IHC? | glands, sheets, single cells, nuc. atypia, +/-mitoses, +/-necrosis | head | arises from the precursor PanIN | ampullary carcinoma, chronic pancreatitis |
Pancreatoblastoma | squamoid nests, whorling | - | (nature.com) | CK7 (acinar comp.), CK8, CK18, CK19 | squamoid nests of cells, whorling, nested growth, +/-keratinization | none | usu. paediatric population | acinar cell carcinoma |
Acinar cell carcinoma | acinar arch. | - | (WC), (histopathology-india.net) | trypsin, lipase | nests or trabeculae, nucleolus, mod. basophilic granular cytoplasm | head (slight predilection) | - | pancreatoblastoma |
Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells | giant cells | - | Image? | IHC? | giant cells, usu. with AIS or inv. ductal adenocarcinoma | head | - | anaplastic carcinoma |
Chronic pancreatitis | fibrosis, loss of acinar tissue, preservation of lobular arch. | - | [2] | IHC? | loss of acinar tissue with preservation of islets, fibrosis | ? | not a neoplasm, included here as it is in the (clinical) DDx | ductal adenocarcinoma |
WHO classification
Benign epithelial:
Borderline epithelial:
- Mucinous cystic neoplasm with moderate dysplasia.
- Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm with moderate dysplasia.
- Solid pseudopapillary neoplasm
Malignant epithelial:
- Ductal adenocarcinoma.
- Mucinous noncystic carcinoma.
- Signet ring cell carcinoma.
- Adenosquamous carcinoma.
- Undifferentiated carcinoma.
- Undifferentiated carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells.
- Mixed ductal-endocrine carcinoma.
- Serous cystadenocarcinoma.
- Mucinous cystadenocarcinoma.
- Invasive.
- Noninvasive.
- Intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma.
- Invasive.
- Noninvasive.
- Acinar cell carcinoma.
- Pancreatoblastoma.
- Solid pseudopapillary carcinoma.
Soft tissue tumours:
- See soft tissue lesions.
Ectopic pancreatic tissue
It comes in two flavours:[5]
- Pancreatic ectopia.
- Pancreatic (acinar) metaplasia.
Pancreatic acinar metaplasia
General
- Common in the GI tract.
- Found in ~ 17-19% of gastroesophageal junction biopsies.[7][8]
- Associated with intestinal metaplasis.[7]
- Not associated with changes of GERD, or Helicobacter gastritis.[7]
Gross
- May be a single lesion or a cluster of lesions.[6]
Note:
- Not associated with the endoscopic diagnosis of esophagitis or Barrett's esophagus.[7]
Microscopic
Features:
- Pancreatic acini - only.
- Intensely eosinophilic cytoplasm.
Negatives:
- No pancreatic ducts.
- No islets of Langerhans (pancreatic islets).
Images
IHC
Features:[9]
- Trypase +ve.
- Lipase +ve.
Sign out
It can be debated whether it is worth reporting.
ESOPHAGUS (DISTAL), BIOPSY: - COLUMNAR EPITHELIUM WITH MODERATE CHRONIC, FOCALLY ACTIVE, INFLAMMATION, AND PANCREATIC ACINAR METAPLASIA. - REACTIVE SQUAMOUS EPITHELIUM. - NEGATIVE FOR INTESTINAL METAPLASIA. - NEGATIVE FOR DYSPLASIA AND NEGATIVE FOR MALIGNANCY.
Pancreatic ectopia
General
- May be confused with something pathologic.
Microscopic
Features:
- Consists of pancreatic acini and pancreatic ducts.
- +/-Islets of Langerhans.
Inflammatory
Pancreatitis
Classification
Etiology
Mnemonic I GET SMASHED:
- Idiopathic.
- Gallstones ~45%.
- Ethanol ~35%.
- Tumours (pancreas, ampulla).
- Scorpion bites, snake bites.
- Microbial - mumps (paramyxovirus), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), cytomegalovirus (CMV), mycoplasma.
- Autoimmune - Crohn's disease, polyarteritis nodosa (PAN), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
- Surgery/trauma, e.g. ERCP, motor vehicle collision.
- Hypercalcemia, hyperlipidemia/hypertriglyceridemia, hypothermia.
- Emboli, e.g. post-CABG.
- Drugs - SAND = steroids & sulfonamides, azathioprine, NSAIDs, diuretics, such as furosemide.
Acute pancreatitis
Chronic pancreatitis
Cystic lesions - overview
General
- True cystic lesions are uncommon.
- A true cystic lesion: must have an epithelial lining.
- Only 10% of cystic lesions are true cystic lesions, i.e. 90% of cystic lesions are really pseudocysts.
- A true cystic lesion: must have an epithelial lining.
- It is hard to differentiate pseudocysts & cysts.
Cystic tumours - clinical
General:
- Usually diagnosed by imaging (CT/MRI, ERCP, Endoscopic ultrasound).
- 50% incidental finding.
- Vague symptoms
- Abdominal mass.
- Weight loss.
- Jaundice.
- Usually favourable prognosis - mostly benign.
Most important cystic lesions
- Serous.
- Mucinous.
- Ovarian-like stroma.
- Solid pseudopapillay tumours.
- Intraductal papillary mucinous tumour (IPMT).
- No ovarian-like stroma.
Mnemonic SIMS: Serous, IPMT, Mucinous, Solid pseudopapillary tumour.
Useful stains
- PAS-D.
Mucinous vs. IMPT
IMPT:
- No ovarian-like stroma.
- Usually has total pancreatectomy.
Cystic tumours of the pancreas
Khalifa's table of cystic tumours:
Tumour | Usual sex | Age (years) | Usual site | Typical size (cm) |
Gross pathology |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Serous microcystic adenoma |
female | 66 | body & tail | 11 | (joplink.net[10], (jhmi.edu)[11] |
Intraductal papillary mucinous tumour (IPMT) |
male | 62 | head | 4 | (jhmi.edu)[11] |
Mucinous tumour | female | 49 | body & tail | 10 | (rsna.org) |
Solid pseudopapillary tumour |
female | 35 | any | 7.5 | (ajronline.org), (flickr.com/humpath) |
Cystic lesions
Serous tumours - overview
General
- Cell of origin: intralobular duct cells (ductular cells).
- Glycogen rich - but do not produce mucin.
Subclassication
- Serous microcystic adenoma (AKA serous cystadenoma[12]).
- Many small cysts.
- Serous oligocystic adenoma.
- Large cysts.
- Serous cystadenocarcinoma - very rare.[13]
Note:
- If one mucin +ve cell, tumour = a mucinous tumour.
Serous cystadenoma of the pancreas
Mucinous cystic neoplasms of the pancreas
- Gastro-entero-pancreatic cell differentiation with hypercellular ovarian-type stroma.
- Stroma --> cellular.
- 2-2.5% of all exocrine pancreatic tumours.
- Almost exclusively in women.
- Mean age - 49 years.
- >80% in body and tail.
- Average size ~10 cm.
Note:
- Looks different than serous tumour.
Subclassification
- Mucinous cystadenoma.
- Borderline mucinous cystic tumour.
- Mucinous cystadenocarcinoma.
Borderline vs. Carcinoma
- Few mitoses in borderline.
Radiology
- Mucinous tumours: multilocular.
- Generally larger than serous.
- Often partially solid and cystic.
- Often calcified.
- Calcification rare in serous.
- Usually tail & body.
Microscopic
Mucinous cystadenoma
Features:[14]
- Simple tall columnar epithelium with large mucin vacuole on apical aspect.
- "Ovarian-type stroma" under epithelium.
- Ovarin-type stroma: high density of small (non-wavy) spindle cells with eosinophilic cytoplasm.
Notes:
- Appearance similar to mucinous cystadenoma in the ovary.
- Mucin stains +ve (intracytoplasmic).
Images
www:
Borderline mucinous cystic tumour
Features:
- May have finger like projections.
- Pseudostratification of epithelium.
Notes:
- Surgery does not change based on diagnosis on frozen section.
- Only question is "Is the margin clear?".
- Borderline tumours are rare.
Carcinoma
- Cells floating in mucin.
Mucinous tumour versus pseudocyst
Finding | Mucinous tumour | Pseudocyst |
---|---|---|
Amylase & lipase | low | high |
Viscosity | high | low |
CEA, CA125 | high | low |
Prognosis:
- Benign looking tumours have the potential to transform into carcinoma.
- No report of assoc. pseudomyxoma peritonei.
- US boards question -- it is an exception ... others one cause it.
- Prognosis of m. cystadenocarcinoma is slightly better than that of ductal adenocarcinoma.
Intraductal papillary mucinous tumour
- Abbreviated IPMT.
- AKA intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm, abbreviated IPMN.
Solid pseudopapillary tumour
- AKA solid pseudopapillary neoplasm, abbreviation SPN.
- AKA solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm, abbreviated SPEN.[15]
Pre-malignant lesions
Pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia
- Abbreviated PanIN.
Solid tumours
Invasive ductal carcinoma of the pancreas
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour
- Abbreviated PanNET.[16]
- AKA pancreatic islet cell tumour[16] - considered to be an outdated term.
- AKA islet cell tumour - considered to be an outdated term.
Acinar cell carcinoma of the pancreas
- Not to be confused with acinic cell carcinoma.
Pancreatoblastoma
See also
- Duodenum.
- Gallbladder.
- Gastrointestinal pathology.
- Von Hippel-Lindau syndrome.
- IgG4-related systemic disease.
References
- ↑ URL: http://www.cap.org/apps/docs/committees/cancer/cancer_protocols/2011/PancreasEndo_11protocol.pdf. Accessed on: 29 March 2012.
- ↑ URL: http://www.cap.org/apps/docs/committees/cancer/cancer_protocols/2011/SmallbowelNET_11protocol.pdf. Accessed on: 29 March 2012.
- ↑ Jamieson, NB.; Foulis, AK.; Oien, KA.; Going, JJ.; Glen, P.; Dickson, EJ.; Imrie, CW.; McKay, CJ. et al. (Jun 2010). "Positive mobilization margins alone do not influence survival following pancreatico-duodenectomy for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.". Ann Surg 251 (6): 1003-10. doi:10.1097/SLA.0b013e3181d77369. PMID 20485150.
- ↑ URL: http://www.cap.org/apps/docs/committees/cancer/cancer_protocols/2011/PancreasEndo_11protocol.pdf. Accessed on: 6 April 2012.
- ↑ URL: http://test.pathologyportal.org/newindex.htm?92nd/specgasth2.htm. Accessed on: 14 March 2011.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Stachura, J.; Konturek, JW.; Urbanczyk, K.; Bogdal, J.; Mach, T.; Domschke, W. (Mar 1996). "Endoscopic and histological appearance of pancreatic metaplasia in the human gastric mucosa: a preliminary report on a recently recognized new type of gastric mucosal metaplasia.". Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol 8 (3): 239-43. PMID 8724024.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Schneider, NI.; Plieschnegger, W.; Geppert, M.; Wigginghaus, B.; Höss, GM.; Eherer, A.; Wolf, EM.; Rehak, P. et al. (Aug 2013). "Pancreatic acinar cells-a normal finding at the gastroesophageal junction? Data from a prospective Central European multicenter study.". Virchows Arch. doi:10.1007/s00428-013-1471-8. PMID 23989798.
- ↑ Johansson J, Håkansson HO, Mellblom L, et al. (March 2010). "Pancreatic acinar metaplasia in the distal oesophagus and the gastric cardia: prevalence, predictors and relation to GORD". J. Gastroenterol. 45 (3): 291–9. doi:10.1007/s00535-009-0161-4. PMID 20012917.
- ↑ Doglioni, C.; Laurino, L.; Dei Tos, AP.; De Boni, M.; Franzin, G.; Braidotti, P.; Viale, G. (Nov 1993). "Pancreatic (acinar) metaplasia of the gastric mucosa. Histology, ultrastructure, immunocytochemistry, and clinicopathologic correlations of 101 cases.". Am J Surg Pathol 17 (11): 1134-43. PMID 8214258.
- ↑ URL: http://www.joplink.net/prev/200905/25.html. Accessed on: 15 February 2012.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 URL: http://oac.med.jhmi.edu/cpc/cases/cpc5/cpc5_answer.html. Accessed on: 15 February 2012.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Mills, Stacey E; Carter, Darryl; Greenson, Joel K; Oberman, Harold A; Reuter, Victor E (2004). Sternberg's Diagnostic Surgical Pathology (4th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. pp. 1630. ISBN 978-0781740517.
- ↑ Bano, S.; Upreti, L.; Puri, SK.; Chaudhary, V.; Sakuja, P. (Dec 2011). "Imaging of pancreatic serous cystadenocarcinoma.". Jpn J Radiol 29 (10): 730-4. doi:10.1007/s11604-011-0617-3. PMID 22009426.
- ↑ Iacobuzio-Donahue, Christine A.; Montgomery, Elizabeth A. (2005). Gastrointestinal and Liver Pathology: A Volume in the Foundations in Diagnostic Pathology Series (1st ed.). Churchill Livingstone. pp. 489. ISBN 978-0443066573.
- ↑ URL: http://brighamrad.harvard.edu/Cases/bwh/hcache/360/full.html. Accessed on: 31 October 2011.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Burns, WR.; Edil, BH. (Dec 2011). "Neuroendocrine Pancreatic Tumors: Guidelines for Management and Update.". Curr Treat Options Oncol. doi:10.1007/s11864-011-0172-2. PMID 22198808.
- ↑ Thomas, PC.; Nash, GF.; Aldridge, MC. (2003). "Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma presenting as acute pancreatitis.". HPB (Oxford) 5 (2): 111-3. doi:10.1080/13651820310001153. PMID 18332967.
Further reading
Klimstra, DS.; Pitman, MB.; Hruban, RH. (Mar 2009). "An algorithmic approach to the diagnosis of pancreatic neoplasms.". Arch Pathol Lab Med 133 (3): 454-64. doi:10.1043/1543-2165-133.3.454. PMID 19260750.