# La Rosa 2012: clinicopathologic study of 62 acinar cell carcinomas of the pancreas

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-la-rosa-acinar-cell-carcinoma-62-cases-ajsp-2012/  
OnCo record `paper-la-rosa-acinar-cell-carcinoma-62-cases-ajsp-2012` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The largest single pathology series of acinar cell carcinoma, from a European network, confirmed which stains identify the tumour, described its variants and showed that stage at diagnosis is what determines survival.

## Summary

Multicentre European series of 62 acinar cell carcinomas of the pancreas with detailed morphology, immunohistochemistry and follow-up. The study compared the sensitivity of trypsin, chymotrypsin, lipase and BCL10 as markers of acinar differentiation, characterised mixed acinar-neuroendocrine and acinar-ductal tumours, and examined the acinar cell cystadenocarcinoma variant.

Survival was better than in ductal adenocarcinoma but depended strongly on stage: patients with localised, resected tumours could survive for years while metastatic disease behaved aggressively. Trypsin and BCL10 were the most useful diagnostic markers.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-21
- Journal: American Journal of Surgical Pathology
- Year: 2012
- DOI: 10.1097/PAS.0b013e318263209d
- Authors: La Rosa S, Adsay V, Albarello L, et al.
- Findings: Trypsin and BCL10 immunostains were the most sensitive markers of acinar differentiation.; Stage (tumour size, nodal and distant spread) was the dominant prognostic factor; resected localised tumours had a favourable course.
- What it means: The paper underpins the WHO diagnostic criteria for acinar cell carcinoma and its variants and supports aggressive surgery for localised disease.
- Caveats: Retrospective pathology series with heterogeneous treatment.; Molecular characterisation was not part of this study; the genomic profile came later.

## Sources

- Am J Surg Pathol 2012: https://doi.org/10.1097/PAS.0b013e318263209d
- PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23026929/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Pancreatic acinar cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic-acinar-cell-carcinoma/), [Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/pancreatic/)

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