Pancreatic carcinosarcoma with rare long-term survival: Case report and review of the literature

We report a rare case of pancreatic carcinosarcoma involving a 44-year-old woman. The patient complained of discomfort associated with the upper abdomen and jaundice of skin and sclera for 1 week. After hospitalization, relevant examinations were completed. The disease was diagnosed as carcinoma of the pancreatic head. Whipple procedure was conducted in May 2013. Intraoperative exploration indicated 2 components of the tumor: a fish-shaped gray matter and a hard structure similar to cancellous bone. Histopathological examination showed adenocarcinoma and osteosarcoma. After surgery, the patient received 8 cycles of chemotherapy with gemcitabine and raltitrexed. Previous studies indicated poor prognosis for pancreatic carcinosarcoma. However, our patient survived for 31 months with no recurrence till date. Coexistence of pancreatic adenocarcinoma and osteosarcoma is very rare. Our case was also an exception in manifesting longer survival than expected.