ARC-NET Applied Research on Cancer Center, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Department of Diagnostics and Public Health, Section of Pathology, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.
Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Jan 24;23(3):1283. doi: 10.3390/ijms23031283.
Undifferentiated sarcomatoid carcinoma of the pancreas (SCP) is a rare and aggressive subtype of pancreatic cancer. Histologically, SCP is a poorly differentiated tumor characterized by the lack of glandular differentiation and the presence of mesenchymal-like, spindle-shaped tumor cells. Due to its rarity, only sporadic cases have been reported, while its molecular characterization has not been sufficiently described. Surgical resection with curative intent is the gold-standard of SCP management, but this strategy is possible only in a small proportion of cases due to SCP early metastasization. Although SCP is generally associated with a poor prognosis, some clinical cases amenable to surgical resection and followed by adjuvant chemotherapy have demonstrated a remarkably long survival. Preliminary molecular insights on the SCP molecular landscape have demonstrated the recurrent presence of and mutations, highlighting genetic similarities with conventional pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Although the use of immunotherapy in PDAC remains an unmet challenge, recent insights indicated a potentially significant role of the PD-L1/Notch3 axis in SCP, opening new horizons for immunotherapy in this cancer subtype. In this review, we described the most important clinic-pathologic features of SCP, with a specific focus on their molecular landscape and the potential targets for precision oncology.
胰腺未分化肉瘤样癌(SCP)是一种罕见且侵袭性强的胰腺癌亚型。组织学上,SCP 是一种低分化肿瘤,其特征为缺乏腺体分化和存在间叶样、梭形肿瘤细胞。由于其罕见性,仅有散发病例报道,其分子特征尚未得到充分描述。以治愈为目的的手术切除是 SCP 管理的金标准,但由于 SCP 早期转移,只有一小部分病例可以采用这种策略。尽管 SCP 通常与预后不良相关,但一些可手术切除并接受辅助化疗的临床病例已显示出显著的长期生存。对 SCP 分子图谱的初步分子研究表明, 和 突变反复出现,这突出了与传统胰腺导管腺癌(PDAC)的遗传相似性。尽管免疫疗法在 PDAC 中的应用仍然是一个未满足的挑战,但最近的研究结果表明,PD-L1/Notch3 轴在 SCP 中可能具有重要作用,为这种癌症亚型的免疫治疗开辟了新的前景。在这篇综述中,我们描述了 SCP 最重要的临床病理特征,特别关注其分子图谱和精准肿瘤学的潜在靶点。