Acinar cell carcinoma of pancreas

What it is

A very rare, malignant, epithelial tumor of the pancreas characterized, macroscopically, by a usually large, well-circumscribed, fully or partially encapsulated, solid mass, often with hemorrhage, necrosis and cystic changes, in any portion of the pancreas and, histologically, by neoplastic cells with variable degrees of differentiation and morphology, ranging from acinar structures similar to normal pancreatic acini to large sheets of poorly differentiated neoplastic cells. Presenting symptoms are typically non-specific and include abdominal pain, weight loss, vomiting, nausea, and/or, less commonly, jaundice. Immunohistochemical evidence of acinar-specific products is observed. Association with Lynch syndrome, familial adenomatous polyposis, and pancreatic panniculitis has been reported.

Key facts

Prevalence

<1 / 1 000 000 (annual incidence, Europe)

Age of onset

Adult

Inheritance

Not applicable

Classified as

Disease

Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.

ICD-10 codes

ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.

Related health topics

Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.

Cross-references