Phenotypical characteristics of undifferentiated carcinoma of the pancreas: A comparison with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and relevance of E-cadherin, alpha catenin and beta catenin expression

The characteristics of undifferentiated (anaplastic) carcinoma (UC) of the pancreas were analysed and compared with those of poorly differentiated ade nocarcinoma (PA). Eight cases of UC of the pancreas were evaluated by clini copathological and immunohistochemical methods and compared with 20 cases o f PA. Large size of the tumor, local invasion and lymph node metastasis wer e frequently seen in UC, leading to a significantly worse prognosis compare d to that of Pa (p=0.022). Immunohistochemically, E-cadherin expression was completely lost in 7/8 UC cases, whereas half the PA cases revealed a stro ng reactivity for E-cadheria. alpha -and beta -catenin expressions tended t o be impaired in UC compared with PA. The results suggest that the altered expression of adhesion molecules is correlated with dedifferentiated change and is contributory to its aggressive biological behaviour.