Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the pancreas: A case report

Introduction: Primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a rare type of pancreatic cancer with an extremely low incidence rate and a prognosis that is poorer than that of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Presentation of case: We report a case of pure pancreatic SCC in an 80-year-old man. Based on the examination before surgical resection, we did not detect any SCC lesions that might have metastasized to the pancreas. Partial gastrectomy with caudal pancreatectomy and splenectomy were performed to remove the tumor. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen confirmed the diagnosis of poorly differentiated SCC of the pancreas with stomach invasion and regional lymph node metastasis. The patient was administered adjuvant chemotherapy. Discussion: SCC poses a diagnostic challenge, requiring histopathology for definitive diagnosis. As an aggressive disease with poor response to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, the prognosis for primary SCC is poor. Conclusion: Surgical resection and ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) is helpful for obtaining samples for histopathology and cytology, thus improving diagnostic accuracy.