Ciliated-cell adenocarcinoma of the pancreas

An autopsy case of ciliated-cell adenocarcinoma of the pancreas was reported. A 65-year-old man, who had undergone subtotal gastrectomy because of advanced gastric carcinoma 6 years previously, died of obstructive jaundice. The autopsy revealed a primary tumor in the head of the pancreas and multiple metastatic foci in the liver, lungs, and regional lymph nodes. Histologically, the pancreatic tumor was moderately differentiated papillary adenocarcinoma with well developed cilia. The metastatic tumor also showed similar histology. Histologic and ultrastructural features of the tumor were described in detail and the cytogenesis of ciliated-cell adenocarcinoma was briefly discussed.