The pancreatic head and neck constitute less than half (mean 46 +/- 5%) of the whole pancreas. There is no difference in the concentration of ductal epithelium between the head and the body of the pancreas. The preponderance of pancreatic exocrine tumours which arise in the head of the pancreas compared to the body is not, therefore, due to a larger number of cells at risk in the pancreatic hea...

To identify and characterize genes, the products of which play a role in pancreatic adenocarcinoma, we constructed a complementary DNA (cDNA) library using mRNA from the pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line HPAF, grown as a nude mouse tumor. Through differential screening, we identified a cDNA clone, pII5B, that is homologous to an mRNA expressed at significantly higher levels in HPAF cells than...

Chronic pancreatitis is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the pancreas. The etiology is multi-fold, but all lead to progressive scarring and loss of pancreatic function. Early diagnosis is difficult; and the understanding of the molecular events that underlie this progressive disease is limited. In this study, we investigated differential proteins associated with mild and severe chronic pancre...

PURPOSE Galectin-3, a member of the beta-galactoside-binding lectin family, has multiple biological functions including cell-cell interactions and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, cellular proliferation, cellular differentiation, and apoptosis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of galectin-3 expression to clinicopathological findings and patient prognosis in ductal aden...

Osteoclast-like giant cell tumor of the pancreas is a very rare neoplasm, of which the histiogenesis remains controversial. A 63-yr-old woman was hospitalized for evaluation of epigastric pain. An abdominal computerized tomography revealed the presence of a large cystic mass, arising from the tail of pancreas. A distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy was performed. Histologically, the tumor was...

The peptide growth factor gastrin and its receptor, the G-protein coupled cholecystokinin receptor type B (CCKBR), play an integral role in the growth and progression of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Gastrin immunoreactivity is found in the fetal pancreas but its expression is not detected in normal pancreas after birth, except when it is re-expressed in malignant lesions.

CONTEXT Despite the recent progress of diagnostic and therapeutic modalities, survival rates of pancreatic adenocarcinoma remain poor, mainly due to late diagnosis. CASE REPORT We report the case of a 56-year-old man who was diagnosed with a symptomatic intraductal papillary mucinous tumor of the pancreas located in the uncus. This tumor was associated with a concurrent stenosis of the isthmi...

We herein present the first case to be reported of synchronous quadruple primary cancer of the thyroid, breast, pancreas and stomach in a 70-year-old female. Fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) revealed increased FDG activity in the thyroid, left breast, pancreatic body and antrum of the stomach. To make a definitive diagnosis of synchr...

BACKGROUND BSEP disease results from mutations in ABCB11, which encodes the bile salt export pump (BSEP). BSEP disease is associated with an increased risk of hepatobiliary cancer. CASE PRESENTATION A 36 year old woman with BSEP disease developed pancreatic adenocarcinoma at age 36. She had been treated with a biliary diversion at age 18. A 1.7 x 1.3 cm mass was detected in the pancreas on ab...

Mucinous tumors of the pancreas are rare and the diagnosis of invasive carcinoma can be a dilemma. While metastatic disease from mucinous cystadenocarcinoma (MCAC) and invasive intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) have been reported, no extraperitoneal mucinous cystic metastatic disease has been described. When metastatic, the overall survival rates for invasive adenocarcinoma, mucin...