Definition
Microscopically visible, sharply circumscribed nodules composed of acinar cells with different tinctorial quality compared to the surrounding acinar parenchyma.
Clinical Features
Incidence
Unknown. Reported prevalence is up to 47% in autopsies studies and about 20% in surgical series of adult patients (Longnecker, Hashida, et al., 1980; Troxell & Drachenberg, 2016). In earlier series, acinar cell nodules (ACN) were reported to occur more frequently in heavy smokers and people with a history of alcohol abuse (Longnecker, Shinozuka, et al., 1980), as well as in diabetics (Kishi et al., 1992).
Age
ACN are mostly observed in adult individuals (median age: 60 years) and are practically absent in children 0–9 years (Longnecker, Hashida, et al., 1980; Troxell & Drachenberg, 2016).
Sex
ACN occur slightly more often in males than in females (Troxell & Drachenberg, 2016)....
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References and Further Reading
Fang, J., Hussong, J., Roebuck, B. D., Talamonti, M. S., & Rao, M. S. (1997). Atypical acinar cell foci in human pancreas. Morphological and morphometric analysis. International Journal of Pancreatology, 22(2), 127–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf02787470.
Kishi, K., Nakamura, K., Yoshimori, M., Tajiri, H., Ozaki, H., Kinoshita, T., et al. (1992). Morphology and pathological significance of focal acinar cell dysplasia of the human pancreas. Pancreas, 7(2), 177–182. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006676-199203000-00008.
Kodama, T., & Mori, W. (1983). Atypical acinar cell nodules of the human pancreas. Acta Pathologica Japonica, 33(4), 701–714. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1827.1983.tb02119.x.
Longnecker, D. S., Hashida, Y., & Shinozuka, H. (1980). Relationship of age to prevalence of focal acinar cell dysplasia in the human pancreas. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 65(1), 63–66.
Longnecker, D. S., Shinozuka, H., & Dekker, A. (1980). Focal acinar cell dysplasia in human pancreas. Cancer, 45(3), 534–540. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-0142(19800201)45:3<534::aid-cncr2820450320>3.0.co;2-g.
Shinozuka, H., Lee, R. E., Dunn, J. L., & Longnecker, D. S. (1980). Multiple atypical acinar cell nodules of the pancreas. Human Pathology, 11(4), 389–391. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0046-8177(80)80037-2.
Troxell, M. L., & Drachenberg, C. (2016). Allograft pancreas: pale acinar nodules. Human Pathology, 54, 127–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.humpath.2016.02.029.
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Esposito, I., Haeberle, L. (2021). Acinar Cell Nodules. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5520-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5520-1
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