Clinical Characteristics of Adenosquamous Carcinoma of the Pancreas

Abstract

Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas (ASC) is a variant of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), but the prognosis remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the prognosis of ASC using a matched case-control design. We evaluated clinical characteristics of ASC treated between 2001 and 2011 in our institution. As controls, PDAC cases matched with ASC cases for sex, age, pretreatment Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, location, initial therapy and American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM staging for pancreatic cancer were also evaluated. Of the 914 cases of pancreatic neoplasm, 28 cases (3.06%) of ASC were identified, and 56 cases of PDAC were matched as controls. Median overall survival (OS) was significantly worse for ASC (8.38 months) than for PDAC (15.75 months; hazard ratio [HR], 1.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.07-3.51; P = 0.026). Of the 22 unresected cases, median OS was again significantly worse for ASC (4.67 months) than for PDAC (12.36 months; HR, 2.39; 95% confidence interval, 1.27-4.51; P = 0.007). These results demonstrate that ASC is more aggressive than PDAC.