Ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas with psammomatous calcification. Report of a case

Calcification is extremely rare in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, but we may sometimes encounter focal dystrophic calcification. We herein report the case of an 83-year-old female with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma associated with diffuse psammomatous calcification. The calcification was preoperatively detected by computed tomography. Numerous psammoma bodies were scattered throughout the tumor. Immunohistochemical positivity of osteopontin, a non-collagenous bone-related protein, was found in the psammoma bodies. The possibility of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma should therefore be considered for a localized calcified lesion in the pancreas. Therefore, osteopontin may play a significant role in the development of psammoma bodies. Studies to elucidate the prognostic significance of psammoma bodies in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas are therefore recommended.