Rare pancreatic carcinosarcoma in a patient with medical history of esophageal cancer

Abstract

Rationale: Pancreatic carcinosarcoma (PCS) is a very rare pancreatic cancer with an extremely poor prognosis. Interestingly, PCS can coexist with other metachronous malignant cancers. Here we report a case of PCS combined with esophageal cancer (EC). Patient concerns: The patient was a 66-year-old man who presented with abdominal pain and progressive nausea. He had undergone esophagectomy for EC 5 years previously. Diagnosis: Both EC and PCS were confirmed via postoperative pathological diagnosis. Interventions: Owing to the patient's previous esophagectomy for EC, pancreaticoduodenectomy for the PCS could not be performed. Instead, he underwent cholecystectomy with bile duct-jejunum Roux-en-Y anastomosis and radioactive seed implantation. Outcomes: The patient is still alive for >1 year. Lessons: To our knowledge, this is the first report of PCS combined with EC and thus of metachronous multiple primary carcinoma. A detailed literature review of the clinical and histologic features of PCS reveals important information about the epidemiology and biology of this rare disease.