Tracking the Clonal Evolution of Adenosquamous Carcinoma, a Rare Variant of Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm of the Pancreas

Adenosquamous carcinoma (ASC) is an uncommon variant of pancreatic neoplasm. We sought to trace the mode of tumor progression using specimens of ASC associated with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) of the pancreas. A resected specimen of the primary pancreatic ASC, developed in a 72-year-old man, was subjected to mutation profiling using amplicon-targeted sequencing and digital polymerase chain reaction. DNA was isolated from each histological compartment including noninvasive IPMN, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and adenocarcinoma (AC). Histologically, an IPMN with a large mural nodule was identified. The invasive tumor predominantly consisted of SCC, and a smaller AC was found around the lesion. Squamous metaplasias were sporadically distributed within benign IPMNs. Mutation alleles KRAS and GNAS were identified in all specimens of IPMN including the areas of squamous metaplasia. In addition, these mutations were found in SCC and AC. Clear transition from flat/low-papillary IPMN to SCC indicated a potent invasion front, and the SCC compartment was genetically unique, because the area has a higher frequency of mutation KRAS. The invasive tumors with distinct histological appearances shared the form of noninvasive IPMN as a common precursor, rather than de novo cancer, suggesting the significance of a genetic profiling scheme of tumors associated with IPMN.