A Case of Osteoclastoid Giant Cell Carcinoma of Pancreas

Kazuhiro Suzumura, Nobukazu Kuroda and Jiro Fujimoto

First Department of Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine

We report a very rare case of osteoclastoid giant cell carcinoma of the pancreas. A 66-year-old man admitted for general itching and jaundice was found in computed tomography (CT) and abdominal ultrasonography (US) to have a pancreatic tumor. Although serum CA19-9 was high at 82 U/ml, other tumor markers were within normal range. CT and US showed an unevenly enhanced mass with cystic lesion about 6 cm in diameter in the pancreatic head. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2 study showed a iso-high intensity mass. The pancreatic duct had been relocated by the tumor, but no obstruction was found by MRCP. The patient underwent pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy. Pathological examination showed osteoclastoid giant cell carcinoma of the pancreas. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful, but local recurrence was observed 1 year after surgery. We resected the recurrent tumor and part of the pancreas, and conducted distal gastrectomy. Liver metastasis progressed rapidly, however, postoperatively and he died four months after the second surgery.

Key words
osteoclastoid giant cell carcinoma, pancreas

Reprint requests
Kazuhiro Suzumura First Department of Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine
1-1 Mukogawa-cho, Nishinomiya, 663-8501 JAPAN

Accepted
January 31, 2007

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