Hilary Chipongo, Deogratias Mwanjamila, Alex Mashaka, Shafii Ramadhani, Theresia Mushi, Dammy Shimbo, Amos Mwakigonja, Asteria Kimambo
Due to its similar presentation with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, lack of routine immunohistochemistry in some cases, and limited access to some cross-sectional imaging, PASC is often misdiagnosed or detected late. These two cases, one with invasion of the duodenum and gallbladder and the other with atypical presentation and hepatic metastasis, highlight the need for a high clinical suspicion and histopathological confirmation in sub-Saharan Africa.
BACKGROUND: The prevalence of pancreatic cancer is increasing globally, with over 510,566 new cases reported in the literature in 2022. Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas is a rare histological variant with poor prognosis compared to other exocrine pancreatic cancer subtypes. Little is known about the prevalence of PASC in sub-Saharan Africa.
CASE PRESENTATION: Two cases are presented here: Case 1 reports PASC with invasion of the gallbladder and duodenum, and Case 2 shows early-onset PASC at an even younger age. Diagnosis was made through clinical evaluation and imaging and confirmed by histological findings.
CONCLUSION: Due to its similar presentation with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, lack of routine immunohistochemistry in some cases, and limited access to some cross-sectional imaging, PASC is often misdiagnosed or detected late. These two cases, one with invasion of the duodenum and gallbladder and the other with atypical presentation and hepatic metastasis, highlight the need for a high clinical suspicion and histopathological confirmation in sub-Saharan Africa.