Marcos Gelos, Dirk Behringer, Stathis Philippou, Benno Mann
Context Carcinosarcoma (malignant mixed tumor) is a rare variant of a pancreatic neoplasm having a dismal prognosis; very few clinical data and treatment options have been published. Unlike adenocarcinoma of the pancreas, there is nothing specific in the literature for this variant regarding postoperative treatment with chemotherapeutic agents.Case report We report the case of a 61-yearold woman presenting with anemia. Examination revealed a mass in the pancreatic head and she underwent a partial pancreaticoduodenectomy. Histopathological examination revealed a pancreatic neoplasm with both adenomatous as well as sarcomatous characteristics. Postoperatively, the patient was treated with gemcitabine and was in a good health for 9 months. Three follow-up CT scans were done, showingcomplete remission. Eleven months postoperatively, the patient died from a recurrence.Conclusion Carcinosarcoma of the pancreas is a very rare disease having a dismal prognosis. In addition to reviewing theliterature on this entity, we present the first published case where gemcitabine was administered as a treatment modality incombination with surgery.
