An autopsy case of anaplastic pancreatic carcinoma with diffuse liver metastases in acute hepatic failure

A 76-year-old man presented to our hospital with continuous abdominal pain and vomiting. The results of the computed tomography indicated a pancreatic head mass with multiple liver metastatic tumors. Multiple liver tumors progressed rapidly, and the patient died of the resulting acute hepatic failure approximately 1 month after the onset of symptoms. The results of the postmortem examination indicated anaplastic pancreatic carcinoma (pleomorphic type) with multiple liver metastases. The tumor cells in the primary pancreatic lesion and liver metastases were replaced with normal tissue, and they showed a decrease in stainability by E-cadherin staining. Overall, the pathological findings suggested that the inhibition of E-cadherin may be related to the proliferation and infiltration of anaplastic cancer cells.