Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0042963 (vomiting)
 31,883 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Anaplastic pancreatic carcinomas are rare tumors, frequently displaying a variety of growth patterns. The literature lacks a comprehensive study of this tumor. Thirty-five cases of anaplastic carcinoma of the pancreas diagnosed between 1955 and 1997 were retrieved from the Endocrine Registry at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. Histology, immunophenotype, molecular analysis, and patient follow-up were analyzed. The tumors of 10 women and 25 men, aged 34 to 85 years (mean age at presentation, 62.5 years), were studied. Patients had vague symptoms (weight loss, pain, and fatigue, nausea, or vomiting), lasting an average of 13.2 weeks. The tumors, of an average size of 9.2 cm, were usually in the head or tail of the pancreas. The tumors were widely infiltrative, histomorphologically separated into predominantly large, pleomorphic cell, or spindle cell groups. Tumor phagocytosis and necrosis were noted. Immunohistochemical studies confirmed an epithelial origin with at least one epithelial marker in 78% of the tumors. K-ras mutations by sequence analysis were found in eight of 12 cases tested. Surgical biopsy/excision was used in all patients. Twenty-nine of 35 patients died of disease (average, 5.2 months), three died with no evidence of disease (average, 56.9 months), and three patients were alive at last follow-up (average, 94.0 months), one with residual disease. There was no statistically significant difference in survival between patients with and without a K-ras mutation. Anaplastic carcinoma of the pancreas usually occurs in the head of the pancreas in older men. The epithelial nature of the pleomorphic cells (giant or spindled) can usually be documented. Patients with K-ras mutations have a shorter survival time, even though the overall prognosis for all anaplastic carcinomas is fatal (93% fatality; average survival, 448 days). Ann Diagn Pathol 5: 129-140, 2001. This is a US government work. There are no restriction on its use.
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PMID:A clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical study of 35 anaplastic carcinomas of the pancreas with a review of the literature. 1143 66

Anaplastic carcinoma (AC) or undifferentiated carcinoma of the pancreas is a rare variant among the malignant pancreatic neoplasms. These tumors have a poor prognosis with survival measured in months. The role of surgical palliation to improve the quality of life is not well defined in these patients. We report a case of AC of pancreas in a 65-year-old male patient. Patient had upper abdominal pain with frequent bilious vomiting. Computed tomography scan of the abdomen showed a mass in the body of pancreas with possible infiltration of duodenojejunal flexure (DJF). Laparotomy revealed an inoperable mass with posterior fixity and involvement of the DJF. Patient underwent a palliative duodenojejunostomy. Tissue biopsy from the tumor showed pleomorphic type AC with giant cells. Patient had good symptomatic relief from profuse vomiting and progressed well at follow up. AC of pancreas is a rare and aggressive malignancy with dismal outlook. If obstructive symptoms are present due to duodenal involvement, a palliative bypass may be a worthwhile surgical option in selected cases.
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PMID:Anaplastic carcinoma of the pancreas: is there a role for palliative surgical procedure? 2460 Jan 83