Figure 1From: What is the origin of pancreatic adenocarcinoma?Formation of malignant ductular structures within hamster's islets. a) The lesions is confined to the islets and is sharply demarcated from the surrounding tissue by a layer of fibrosis and inflammatory cells invaded by cancer. H&E × 30. b) Similar lesions showing irregularly shaped malignant glands replacing the islet. H&E × 30. c) In this lesions most part of islet is replaced by malignant gland and sclerosis. Note the sharp delineation of the lesions. Local cancer invasion is seen in the lower portion. H&E × 30. d) An atrophic islet in a patients with chronic pancreatitis. A ductular structure (arrow) is composed of light eosinophilc and clear cells intermingled with islet cells. H&E × 120. e) Another atrophic human islet far remote of a cancer. A dysplastic ductular structure (arrow) in the islet without any signs of depression in the surrounding islet cells. H&E × 120. f) An islet in the vicinity of a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma containing large atypical cells (arrows) intermingled with intact islet cells. H&E × 72. g) A human islet cell in a patient with pancreatic adenocarcinoma loaded with material immunoreactive with anti-MUC-1 antibody (fine granules). Although in these islets the immunoreactivity with anti-insulin has diminished, some granules show reactivity with anti-insulin (arrows). × 104,000, h) Normal human islet. One endocrine cell shows a typical cilia identical to those present in ductal-ductular cells. × 7,200. i) Fine structure of a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, some cells of which show a few regular or rudimentary granules of endocrine type (arrow). × 7,200.Back to article page