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Updated: Sep 20, 2026
Bioluminescent Orthotopic Model of Pancreatic Cancer Progression
Published on: June 28, 2013
Pancreatoblastoma. A case report with special emphasis on squamoid corpuscles with optically clear nuclei rich in
Yukari Hasegawa1, Yuji Ishida, Keisuke Kato
1Division of Clinical Laboratory, Kanagawa Children's Medical Center, Mutsukawa 2-138-4, Minami-ku, Yokohama, 232-8555, Japan.
Background:
Pancreatoblastoma (PBL) is a rare neoplasm that generally occurs in the pediatric age group and shows unique histopathology, including squamoid corpuscles that may contain tumor cells with optically clear nuclei (OCN) rich in biotin. In the English-language literature there have been two reports on the cytology of PBL, but neither of them refers to the cytologic features of squamoid corpuscles.
Case:
A 3-year-old boy with nausea and general fatigue was referred to our center. Imaging studies showed an approximately 7.5-cm, left-sided abdominal mass and multiple metastases in the lung. The abdominal mass was biopsied, and its histology showed solid cellular nests with occasional acinar differentiation and squamoid corpuscles. Imprint cytology of the biopsied sample displayed cellular epithelial nests with focal acinar structures and foci composed of larger cells with a low nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio. These foci contained a few tumor cells with biotin-rich OCN and were determined to be squamoid corpuscles.
Conclusion:
Detection of occasional squamoid corpuscles with biotin-rich OCN can be useful in making a diagnosis of PBL on cytologic samples.
