Pancreatic acinar metaplasia (PAM) is a common incidental

histopathologic Histopathology (compound of three Greek words: ''histos'' "tissue", πάθος ''pathos'' "suffering", and -λογία ''-logia'' "study of") refers to the microscopic examination of tissue in order to study the manifestations of disease. Spec ...

finding present in approximately 20-25% of patients undergoing an

esophagogastroduodenoscopy Esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) or oesophagogastroduodenoscopy (OGD), also called by various other names, is a diagnostic endoscopic procedure that visualizes the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract down to the duodenum. It is considered ...

Signs and symptoms

Studies are mixed on whether it is associated with pathology and

symptoms Signs and symptoms are the observed or detectable signs, and experienced symptoms of an disease, illness, injury, or condition. A sign for example may be a higher or lower temperature than normal, raised or lowered blood pressure or an abnormali ...

. There is some

epidemiological Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population. It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...

evidence to suggest is associated with

gastroesophageal reflux Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is one of the upper gastrointestinal chronic diseases where stomach content persistently and regularly flows up into the esophagus, resulting in symptoms and/ ...

and

Helicobacter ''Helicobacter'' is a genus of Gram-negative bacteria possessing a characteristic helical shape. They were initially considered to be members of the genus '' Campylobacter'', but in 1989, Goodwin ''et al.'' published sufficient reasons to justif ...

gastritis Gastritis is inflammation of the lining of the stomach. It may occur as a short episode or may be of a long duration. There may be no symptoms but, when symptoms are present, the most common is upper abdominal pain (see dyspepsia). Other possi ...

. There is no evidence to suggest it is pre-neoplastic, like

Barrett's esophagus Barrett's esophagus is a condition in which there is an abnormal (metaplastic) change in the mucosal cells lining the lower portion of the esophagus, from stratified squamous epithelium to simple columnar epithelium with interspersed goblet cells ...

Cause

A slight increased incidence with age suggests it is an acquired lesion, as may be seen in a true

metaplasia Metaplasia ( gr, "change in form") is the transformation of one differentiated cell type to another differentiated cell type. The change from one type of cell to another may be part of a normal maturation process, or caused by some sort of abno ...

Histopathology

The histopathologic features of pancreatic acinar metaplasia are: (1) the presence of cell clusters that resembles a many-lobed "berry" (an

acinus An acinus (; plural, acini; adjective, acinar or acinous) refers to any cluster of cells that resembles a many-lobed "berry," such as a raspberry ('' acinus'' is Latin for "berry"). The berry-shaped termination of an exocrine gland, where the ...

), with (2) cells that are histomorphologically identical to the glands of the

exocrine pancreas The pancreas is an organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine gland, i.e. it has both an endocri ...

References

{{reflist Digestive system neoplasia

Signs and symptoms

Cause

Histopathology

See also

References