Pancreatic Acinar Cell Carcinoma with Diffuse Whole-Organ Involvement: An Unusual Presenting Pattern

Abstract

Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma is a rare tumor arising from exocrine components of pancreas. Several case reports and case series studies have reported the imaging characteristics of the pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma, including computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). It is generally considered to be an exophytic, well-circumscribed mass arising from pancreas without pancreatic ductal dilatation. We report an unusual case of pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma with diffuse organ involvement initially mimicking a duodenal tumor. The diagnosis was confirmed histologically after a total pancreatectomy and the specimen showed diffuse pancreatic involvement of the tumor. To the best of our knowledge, diffuse whole-organ involvement of pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma has never been reported in the scientific literature.