Squamous cell carcinoma of pancreas

Background: Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a rare and unusual cancer. Pancreatic malignancies can be classified into endocrine and non-endocrine tumors. Of the non-endocrine tumors, ductal carcinoma is the most common, and the ductal carcinomas can be further subdivided into adenocarcinomas and SCCs. Case Report: In a 51-year-old man presenting with stomach fullness and abdominal pain, a computed tomography (CT) scan identified a 4-cm mass in the tail of pancreas. Combined positron-emission tomography-CT revealed a donut-shaped hypermetabolic abnormality in the pancreatic tail consistent with a primary malignant neoplasm featuring central necrosis. The diagnosis of pancreatic SCC was entertained after biopsy of a metastatic lesion in close proximity to the primary tumor. A diagnosis of adenosquamous carcinoma could not be ruled out, but the close proximity of a metastatic lesion to the primary tumor and negative tumor markers was more suggestive for SCC. Conclusions: Most SCC tumors are advanced at presentation. Clear guidelines for the management of this rare malignancy are lacking, and the response of this histologic type of pancreatic cancer to chemoradiation is not encouraging. The disease is aggressive, and the outcome is typically dismal.