Combined gastroscopic and laparoscopic resection of gastric metastatic adenosquamous carcinoma from lung: A case report

BACKGROUND Primary lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide.Common metastatic sites include the brain,liver,bones,and adrenal glands.However,gastric metastases from lung cancer are rare.This case may be the first report of a combined gastroscopic and laparoscopic resection for gastric metasta-tic adenosquamous carcinoma(ASC).CASE SUMMARY We report a case of gastric metastasis from lung cancer.The patient was a 61-year-old Han Chinese female who first attended our hospital complaining of a per-sistent cough,leading to the diagnosis of advanced-stage lung adenocarcinoma.After more than four years of chemotherapy,the patient began to experience epi-gastric pain.Endoscopy was performed,and pathological examination of biopsy specimens confirmed that the gastric lesion was a metastasis from lung cancer.The lesion was successfully resected by combined gastroscopy and laparoscopy.Histopathological examination of the resected gastric specimen revealed ASC.CONCLUSION Gastric metastases from lung cancer are rare.Endoscopy,histological and immunohistochemical staining are useful for diagnosing metastatic lesions.Surgical management may provide extended survival in appropriately selected patients.

Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas: Molecular characterization of 23 patients along with a literature review

Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas(ASCP)is a rare entity. Like adenocarcinoma of the pancreas,overall survival is poor. Characteristics of ASCP include central tumor necrosis, along with osteoclasts and hypercalcemia. Various theories exist as to why this histological subtype exists, as normal pancreas tissue has no benign squamous epithelium. Due to the rarity of this disease, limited molecular analysis has been performed, and those reports indicate unique molecular features of ASCP. In this paper, we characterize 23 patients diagnosed with ASCP through molecular profiling using immunohistochemistry staining, fluorescent in situ hybridization, chromogenic in situ hybridization, and gene sequencing, Additionally, we provide a comprehensive literature review of what is known to date of ASCP.Molecular characterization revealed overexpression in MRP1(80%), MGMT(79%), TOP2A(75), RRM1(42%),TOPO1(42%), PTEN(45%), CMET(40%), and C-KIT(10%) among others. One hundred percent of samples tested were positive for KRAS mutations. This analysis shows heretofore unsuspected leads to be considered for treatments of this rare type of exocrine pancreas cancer. Molecular profiling may be appropriate to provide maximum information regarding the patient's tumor. Further work should be pursued to better characterize this disease.

Surgical outcome of adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas

Adenosquamous carcinoma is rare,accounting for 3%-4% of all pancreatic carcinoma cases. These tumors are characterized by the presence of variable proportions of mucin-producing glandular elements and squamous components,the latter of which should account for at least 30% of the tumor tissue. Recently,several reports have described cases of adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas. However,as the number of patients who undergo resection at a single institute is limited,large studies describing the clinicopathological features,therapeutic management,and surgical outcome for adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas are lacking. We performed a literature review of English articles retrieved from Medline using the keywords 'pancreas' and 'adenosquamous carcinoma'. Additional articles were obtained from references within the papers identif ied by the Medline search. Our subsequent review of the literature revealed that optimal adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy regimens for adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas have not been established,and that curative surgical resection offers the only chance for long-term survival. Unfortunately,the prognosis of the 39 patients who underwent pancreatic resection for adenosquamous carcinoma was very poor,with a 3-year overall survival rate of 14.0% and a median survival time of 6.8 mo. Since the postoperative prognosis of adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas is currently worse than that of pancreatic adenocarcinoma,new adjuvant chemotherapies and/or radiation techniques should be investigated as they may prove indispensible to the improvement of surgical outcomes.

Comparative study of ROR2 and WNT5a expression in squamous/adenosquamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder

AIM To investigate the expression and clinical pathological significance of ROR2 and WNT5a in gallbladder squamous/adenosquamous carcinoma (SC/ASC) and adenocarcinoma (AC). METHODS EnVision immunohistochemistry was used to stain for ROR2 and WNT5a in 46 SC/ASC patients and 80 AC patients. RESULTS Poorly differentiated AC among AC patients aged >45 years were significantly more frequent compared with SC/ASC patients, while tumors with a maximal diameter >3 cm in the SC/ASC group were significantly more frequent compared with the AC group. Positive ROR2 and WNT5a expression was significantly lower in SC/ASC or AC with a maximal mass diameter = 3 cm, a TNM stage of I + II, no lymph node metastasis, no surrounding invasion, and radical resection than in patients with a maximal mass diameter >3 cm, TNM stage., lymph node metastasis, surrounding invasion, and no resection. Positive ROR2 expression in patients with highly differentiated SC/ASC was significantly lower than in patients with poorly differentiated SC/ASC. Positive ROR2 and WNT5a expression levels in highly differentiated AC were significantly lower than in poorly differentiated AC. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that differentiation degree, maximal mass diameter, TNM stage, lymph node metastasis, surrounding invasion, surgical procedure and the ROR2 and WNT5a expression levels were closely related to average survival of SC/ASC or AC. The survival of SC/ASC or AC patients with positive expression of ROR2 and WNT5a was significantly shorter than that of patients with negative expression results. Cox multivariate analysis revealed that poor differentiation, a maximal diameter of the mass >= 3 cm, TNM stage. or., lymph node metastasis, surrounding invasion, unresected surgery and positive ROR2 or WNT5a expression in the SC/ASC or AC patients were negatively correlated with the postoperative survival rate and positively correlated with mortality, which are risk factors and independent prognostic predictors. CONCLUSION SC/ASC or AC patients with positive ROR2 or WNT5a expression generally have a poor prognosis.

Fever as a first manifestation of advanced gastric adenosquamous carcinoma:A case report

Gastric adenosquamous carcinoma(ASC)is a rare type of gastric cancer.It is a mixed neoplasm,consisting of glandular cells and squamous cells.It is often diagnosed at an advanced stage,thus carrying a poor prognosis.We describe a case of a 73-year-old male,who presented with refractory fever and an intra-abdominal mass on imaging.He underwent a laparoscopic exploration followed by a successful totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer.Postoperative pathology revealed primary gastric ASC(T4aN0M0).The patient received adjuvant radiotherapy and chemotherapy with S1 and is alive 20mo after surgery without recurrence.This is the first case of advanced gastric ASC with fever as the initial presentation treated with totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy reported in the English literature.

A huge adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas with sarcomatoid change:An unusual case report

Adenosquamous carcinoma rarely occurs in the pancreas,and is characterized by the presence of cellular components from both duct adenocarcinoma and squamous carcinoma.Here,we describe a rare case of pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma with sarcomatous change.Immunohistochemistry showed that the sarcomatous lesion lost the epithelial marker and aberrantly expressed of acquired mesenchymal markers,which indicated that this special histological phenotype may be attributed to epithelial-mesenchymal transition.This case also indicated that a routine radical surgery without aggressive treatment strategies was still appropriate for adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas with sarcomatoid change.

Primary adenosquamous carcinoma of the esophagus

AIM:To investigate the clinical characteristics,diagnosis,treatment,and prognosis of primary adenosquamous carcinoma(ASC)of the esophagus.METHODS:A total of 4015 patients with esophageal carcinoma underwent surgical resection between January 1995 and June 2012 at the Cancer Hospital of Shantou University Medical College.In 37 cases,the histological diagnosis was primary ASC.Clinical data were retrospectively analyzed from these 37 patients,who underwent transthoracic esophagectomy with lymphadenectomy.Theχ2or Fisher’s exact test was used to compare the clinicopathological features between patients with ASC and those with squamous cell carcinoma(SCC).The Kaplan-Meier and Log-Rank methods were used to estimate and compare survival rates.A Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to identify independent prognostic factors.RESULTS:Primary esophageal ASC accounted for0.92%of all primary esophageal carcinoma cases(37/4015).The clinical manifestations were identical to those of other types of esophageal cancer.All of the 24patients who underwent preoperative endoscopic biopsy were misdiagnosed with SCC.The median survival time(MST)was 21.0 mo(95%CI:12.6-29.4),and the1-,3-,and 5-year overall survival rates were 67.5%,29.4%,and 22.9%,respectively.In multivariate analysis,only adjuvant radiotherapy(HR=0.317,95%CI:0.114-0.885,P=0.028)was found to be an independent prognostic factor.The MST for ASC patients was significantly lower than that for SCC patients[21.0 mo(95%CI:12.6-29.4)vs 46.0 mo(95%CI:40.8-51.2),P=0.001].In subgroup analyses,the MST for ASC patients was similar to that for poorly differentiated SCC patients.CONCLUSION:Primary esophageal ASC is a rare disease that is prone to be misdiagnosed by endoscopic biopsy.The prognosis is poorer than esophageal SCC but similar to that for poorly differentiated SCC patients.

ADENOSQUAMOUS LUNG CARCINOMA:CLINICAL CHARACTERISTICS,SURGICAL TREAMENT AND PROGNOSIS

Objective.The effectiveness of surgical resection of adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung remains poorly defined because of the histology’s relatively low frequency, the failure in most published series to separate adenosquamous carcinoma from the other variants of non-small cell lung carcinoma.To define the effectiveness of surgical treatment of adenosquamous carcinoma,we have retrospectively reviewed our hospital experience over a 12-year period. Methods.Retrospectively reviewed 22 cases of adenosquamous carcinoma who were surgically treated,except one patient,in the PUMCH from Jan.1985 to Aug.1997.This series constitutes the 19% of a total of 1 245 patients with all types of surgical treatment for the primary lung cancer during the same time. Results.The adenosquanous carcinoma was mostly presented in the old patients with a mean age of 60 years and mostly located in the peripheral of lung(n=20).The overall 5-year survival was 23%.Those with stage Ⅰ tumors survival was only 18%(n=13), stage Ⅱ 5%. The survival in stage Ⅲ tumors was not longer than 25 months and in stage Ⅳ survival was not longer than 12 months. Conclusion.Our results suggest that adenosquamous carcinoma of lung was a virulent tumor,which exhibited highly aggressive biological behavior with early lymph nodes metastasis(46%) and its prognosis was worse than that of both squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma.

Application of Unenhanced Computed Tomography Texture Analysis to Differentiate Pancreatic Adenosquamous Carcinoma from Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma

Objective:The objective of this study was to investigate the application of unenhanced computed tomography(CT)texture analysis in differentiating pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma(PASC)from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC).Methods:Preoperative CT images of 112 patients(31 with PASC,81 with PDAC)were retrospectively reviewed.A total of 396 texture parameters were extracted from AnalysisKit software for further texture analysis.Texture features were selected for the differentiation of PASC and PDAC by the Mann-Whitney U test,univariate logistic regression analysis,and the minimum redundancy maximum relevance algorithm.Furthermore,receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the texture feature-based model by the random forest(RF)method.Finally,the robustness and reproducibility of the predictive model were assessed by the 10-times leave-group-out cross-validation(LGOCV)method.

Adenosquamous carcinoma may have an inferior prognosis to signet ring cell carcinoma in patients with stages Ⅰ and Ⅱ gastric cancer

BACKGROUND Primary gastric adenosquamous carcinoma(ASC)is an exceedingly rare histological subtype.Gastric signet ring cell carcinoma(SRC)is a unique subtype with distinct tumor biology and clinical features.The prognosis of gastric ASC vs SRC has not been well established to date.We hypothesized that further knowledge about these distinct cancers would improve the clinical management of such patients.AIM To investigate the clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis of gastric ASC vs SRC.METHODS A cohort of gastric cancer patients was retrospectively collected from the Surveillance,epidemiology,and end results program database.The 1:4 propensity score matching was performed among this cohort.The clinicopathological features and prognosis of gastric ASC were compared with gastric SRC by descriptive statistics.Kaplan-Meier method was utilized to calculate the median survival of the two groups of patients.Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to identify prognostic factors.RESULTS Totally 6063 patients with gastric ASC or SRC were identified.A cohort of 465 patients was recruited to the matched population,including 370 patients with SRC and 95 patients with ASC.Gastric ASC showed an inferior prognosis to SRC after propensity score matching.In the post-matching cohort,the median cancer specific survival was 13.0(9.7-16.3)mo in the ASC group vs 20.0(15.7-24.3)mo in the SRC group,and the median overall survival had a similar trend(P<0.05).ASC and higher tumor-node-metastasis stage were independently associated with a poor survival,while radiotherapy and surgery were independent protective factors for improved prognosis.Subgroup survival analysis revealed that the prognosis of ASC was inferior to SRC only in stages I and II patients.CONCLUSION ASC may have an inferior prognosis to SRC in patients with stages I and II gastric cancer.Our study supports radiotherapy and surgery for the future management of this clinically rare entity.

Pancreatic adenosquamous carcinoma and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm in a CDKN2A germline mutation carrier

A 69-year-old woman from a kindred with familial atypical multiple mole melanoma and carrier of a germline mutation in CDKN2A, presented with abdominal pain caused by a solid-cystic pancreatic mass. The patient had an abdominal computed tomography three years before in which there was no evidence of pancreatic lesion. The endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration showed adenocarcinoma with squamous component. After surgical resection the final diagnosis was adenosquamous pancreatic carcinoma(ASPC) arising in an intraductal papillar mucinous neoplasm(IPMN). Adenosquamous carcinomas are uncommon in the pancreas and have rarely been described in association with IPMNs. It has worse prognosis than the ordinary pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and some distinct features. We review the clinical, imaging, pathologic and molecular aspects of ASPC. Differential diagnosis with contamination, squamous metaplasia and pancreatic metastases from a distant squamous carcinoma is discussed. Besides, the case is an accelerated model of the adenoma(IPMN)-carcinoma sequence probably due to the CDKN2A ger-mline mutation. Somatic CDKN2A mutations are commonevents in the early steps of sporadic pancreatic cancer, but germline mutation carriers have a significantly higher risk of pancreatic carcinoma.

Esophageal superficial adenosquamous carcinoma resected by endoscopic submucosal dissection:A rare case report

BACKGROUND Adenosquamous carcinoma(ASC),which is comprised of squamous cell carcinoma(SCC)and adenocarcinoma elements,is a rare histological type of esophageal carcinoma.Few reports have focused on the endoscopic findings and the effectiveness of the endoscopic treatment of early ASC.CASE SUMMARY A 77-year-old man underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy for heartburn.A flat lesion with an uneven and slightly elevated central portion was found in the distal esophagus.Magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging showed a well-demarcated brownish area with dendritically branched abnormal vessels and highly irregular intrapapillary capillary loops.A histopathological diagnosis of SCC was obtained by endoscopic biopsy.Endoscopic ultrasonography revealed a hypoechoic mass confined to the mucosa layer.The lesion was suspected to be SCC with invasion into the muscularis mucosa.The lesion was resected en bloc by endoscopic submucosal dissection and histologically diagnosed as esophageal ASC limited within the muscularis mucosa,which was completely resected without lymphovascular or neural invasion.The SCC element was the predominant element.The adenocarcinoma element formed ductal and nested structures distributed in a focal pattern.The patient underwent only endoscopic submucosal dissection and has been under annual endoscopic and radiographic surveillance for 3 years without recurrence.CONCLUSION For early ASC confined within the mucosal layer,complete endoscopic resection might also be a curative treatment.

Primary gastric adenosquamous carcinoma: a case report and literature review

Primary gastric adenosquamous carcinoma (GASC) is exceedingly rare. It accounts for less than 1% of all gastric cancers. In this report, we describe our pathological findings along with a review of the literature to improve our understanding of the disease and reduce misdiagnosis, as well as to provide evidence for its treatment and prognosis. A 49-year-old male patient was admitted to our hospital (Dalian Municipal Central Hospital, Dalian, China) with a complaint of epigastric pain that had persisted for half a month. Physical examination, regular laboratory blood tests, and computed tomography revealed no obvious abnormalities. Gastroscopy revealed ulcers in the lower part of the stomach, and pathological assessment revealed adenocarcinoma. Radical gastrectomy was performed, and the folinic acid, fluorouracil, oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) chemotherapy regimen was administered postoperatively. Pathological assessment of the mass revealed a protruding tumor measuring 1.5 × 1.5 × 0.7 cm in the lower part of the stomach. The tumor infiltrated through the full wall of the stomach. This was confirmed by immunohistochemical (IHC) staining for cytokeratin (CK)(+), villin (-), p63 (++), and high-molecular-weight CK (+++). The patient remains alive with no recurrence more than seven years after surgery. Primary GASC is a rare malignant neoplasm. The diagnostic criteria for GASC mainly depend on the clinical, radiographic, and histopathological findings. Pathological assessment and IHC staining can be utilized to confirm the diagnosis. Radical gastrectomy plus postoperative chemotherapy containing the FOLFOX regimen is effective for treating GASC and might contribute to long-term survival.

Outcomes and Prognostic Factors for Adenocarcinoma/Adenosquamous Carcinomas Treated with Radical Hysterectomy and Adjuvant Therapy

Objective: To determine outcomes and prognostic factors for early-stage cervical adenocarcinoma/ adenosquamous carcinomas (AC/ASC) patients who are treated with radical hysterectomy and adjuvant therapy to optimize their treatment. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 26 patients with International Federation of Gynecologists and Obstetricians stage IB-IIB cervical AC/ASC who were treated with radical hysterectomy and adjuvant therapy. Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test. The prognostic significance of various clinical features was determined by using multivariate analysis with the Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results: Univariate analysis revealed that OS was significantly shorter in patients with lymph node metastasis and lymphovascular space invasion. Similarly, PFS was significantly shorter for patients with lymph node metastasis and parametrial invasion. Furthermore, multivariate analysis showed that lymph node metastasis was the only independent predictor for PFS (hazard ratio: 6.47, 95% confidence interval: 1.33 - 31.44, p = 0.021). However, the use of adjuvant chemoradiotherapy did not have any significant effect on either OS or PFS, regardless of lymph node metastasis. Conclusions: Lymph node metastasis is an independent prognostic factor for poor survival in cervical AC/ASC patients treated with radical hysterectomy and adjuvant therapy. In addition, adjuvant chemoradiotherapy does not improve their survival, regardless of lymph node metastasis, which suggests that novel or personalized adjuvant therapeutic strategies with fewer adverse effects than existing strategies are needed.

Concomitant adenosquamous carcinoma and cystadenocarcinoma of the extrahepatic bile duct: A case report

BACKGROUND Infiltrative adenosquamous carcinoma(ASC) of the extrahepatic bile duct is reported infrequently, which is an unusual variant of the ordinary adenocarcinoma. The simultaneous development of ASC and cystadenocarcinoma in the extrahepatic biliary tree is rare. In addition, the accurate preoperative diagnosis of concomitant carcinoma in the multiple biliary trees at an early stage is often difficult. Thus, awareness of the risk of the multiplicity of biliary tumors is perhaps the most important factor in identifying these cases.CASE SUMMARY Here, we report a case of a 63-year-old female with jaundice, who was referred to Shuguang Hospital because of abdominal pain for 1 mo. An abdominal contrastenhanced computed tomography revealed a type I choledochal cyst and intraluminal masses suggestive of adenoma of the common bile duct. In addition,a preoperative diagnosis of a concomitant Klatskin tumor and type I choledochal cyst was made. The patient underwent anti-inflammatory therapy, followed by radical surgery due to hilar cholangiocarcinoma and resection of the choledochal cyst. Examination of the surgical specimen revealed a papillary tumor of the common bile duct, which arose from the malignant transformation of a preexisting cystadenoma. Histologic examination confirmed a special type of cholangiocarcinoma; the tumor in the hilar bile duct was an ASC, whereas the tumor in the common bile duct was a moderately differentiated cystadenocarcinoma. The patient showed rapid deterioration 8 mo after surgery.CONCLUSION Although concomitant ASC and cystadenocarcinoma of the extrahepatic bile duct is difficult to diagnose before surgery, and the prognosis is poor after surgery,surgical resection is still the preferred treatment.

Clinicopathological Characteristics and Prognosis of Patients with Adenosquamous Lung Carcinoma

This study was aimed to characterize clinicopathological features and prognosis of patients with adenosquamous lung carcinoma（ASC）. Among the 2531 patients with lung cancer who underwent surgery between January 2000 and June 2012 in our hospital, 59 were histologically diagnosed as having ASC. The clinicopathological features and follow-up data of ASC patients were collected and analyzed statistically. Superior lobectomy was accomplished in 40 patients, middle and inferior lobectomy in 3, lobectomy plus partial resection of contralateral lung in 5, partial lung resection in 4, and pneumonectomy in 7. Moreover, 22 cases were found to be adenocarcinoma-predominant, and 18 to be squamous cell carcinoma-predominant. The median survival time was 13.6 months, and the 1-, 3-, and 5-year survival rates were 59.9%, 36.4% and 31.2%, respectively. Of the 52 cases with tissue specimens available, 11 had an EGFR mutation（21.2%） and 2 had a KRAS mutation（3.8%）. Multivariate analysis showed that histology subtype, pleural invasion, TNM stage, and postoperative treatment were all independent prognostic factors. The data from the current study demonstrated that SCC-predominant histology represents a better prognosis of ASC. Histology subtype, pleural invasion, TNM stage, and postoperative treatment are independent prognostic factors for ASC and adjuvant therapy may help control the disease.

Analysis of Gene Expression Profile in Lung Adenosquamous Carcinoma Using cDNA Microarray

Gene expression profile of the lung adenosquamous carcinoma was characterized by using cDNA microarray chip containing 4 096 human genes. Among target genes, 508 differentially expressed genes were identified in adenosquamous carcinoma of the lung, 232 genes were overexpressed and 276 genes were underexpressed. Among them, 92 genes are cell signals transduction genes, 34 genes are proto-oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes or cell cycle related genes or cell apoptosis related genes, 29 genes are cell skeleton genes, 28 genes are DNA synthesis, repair and recombination genes, 12 genes are DNA binding and transcription genes. These genes may be associated with the occurence and development of adenosquamous carinome of the lung. Key words lung carcinoma - adenosquamous carcinoma - microarray - gene expression profile CLC number R 734.2 Foundation item: Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (39870305)Biography: YANG Fei(1972-), female, Ph. D candidate, research direction: etiology and pathogenesis of lung cancer.

Hypercalcemia-Leukocytosis syndrome and adenosquamous lung carcinoma:An overlooked conjugation

Hypercalcaemia and leukocytosis are two paraneoplastic conditions associated with poor prognosis.Adenosquamous carcinoma is a rare and aggressive histological subtype of lung cancer consisting of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell components.We report the case of a 57-year-old male smoker who was admitted to the Emergency Room with skull and neck tumefactions,confusion and deteriorated general condition.The complementary study in the ER revealed severe hypercalcaemia(19.8 mg/dL),leukocytosis(18.7×10^(9)/L)and extensive osteolytic lesions of the skull on cranioencephalic computer tomography(CT).The patient was stabilized and admitted.Thoracoabdominopelvic CT showed lung parenchyma consolidation with necrotic areas,supra and infradiaphragmatic adenopathies and scattered osteolytic lesions.Percutaneous lymph node biopsy was consistent with metastasis of adenosquamous lung carcinoma.The patients’clinical situation evolved unfavourably after hospital-acquired infection.This case is characterized by a rare presentation of advanced stage adenosquamous lung carcinoma with scattered osteolytic lesions and severe hypercalcaemia-leukocytosis syndrome,an underrecognized marker of poor prognosis.

Adenosquamous Carcinoma Affecting the Maxilla: A Case Report and Review

Adenosquamous carcinoma of the head and neck (ASC) is a rare and aggressive variant of squamous cell carcinoma, a locally aggressive malignancy characterized by the presence of two distinct components: a squamous cell carcinoma and an adenocarcinoma. The purpose of this study was to report an additional rare case of adenosquamous carcinoma affecting the maxilla, with clinical microscopic features and a complex mid-facial rehabilitation.

Gastric adenosquamous carcinoma with an elevated serum level of alpha-fetoprotein:A case report

BACKGROUND Gastric adenosquamous carcinoma(ASC)is rare and characterized by coexisting of adenocarcinoma andsquamous carcinoma within the same tumor.We present a female patient with gastric ASC who had an elevated serum level of alpha-fetopro-tein(AFP),which decreased to normal levels after a laparoscopic distant radical gastrectomy in a short period.The clinicopathological features in AFP-producing gastric cancer(GC)are discussed,as well as potentially available prognostic predi-ctors.CASE SUMMARY A 50-year-old woman presented to our department with a chief complain of a 6-mo history of bloating.She had no basic diseases including heart diseases and respiratory diseases,and she also denied any prior history of dysphagia,hematemesis,melena,rectal bleeding,hematochezia,or unintentional weight loss.Based on her symptoms,an esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed,showing an annular cavity lesion 3 cm from the pylorus with a diameter of 6 cm.A biopsy of the lesion showed gastric ASC,whereas the pylorus biopsy showed normal mucosa.The patient further received an enhanced computed tomography scan which demonstrated an invasive lesion close to the pylorus with a still clear margin of the tumor to peripheral organs such as the pancreas and liver.Scattered lymph nodes were visible around,whereas no sign of liver metastasis was discovered.Serum tumor markers including carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA),cancer antigen 199(CA199),CA724,CA125,and CA242 were all normal,while the level of serum AFP increased to 172 ng/mL.A laparoscopic distant radical gastrectomy was performed after exclusion of surgical contraindications.Postoperative pathology results showed that the tumor displayed an ulcerated ASC phenotype(90%of medium to highly-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma,10%of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma.Surprisingly,the serum level of AFP decreased to normal level on post operation day 5.The tumor cells were positive for CK5/6,p63,and CEA,and negative for AFP and Epstein-Barr encoding region.CONCLUSION We presented a rare case of gastric ASC with elevated serum AFP level,which may be new subtype of AFP-producing GC.Follow-up detection of serum AFP might be a useful tool to predict patient prognosis.