A Clinical Review of Solid and Papillary Epithelial Neoplasm of the Pancreas

Kim, Sung Heun

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm (SPEN) of the pancreas is a rare malignant tumor with a characteristic female predominance. This tumor has a low- grade malignant potential biologically, and shows favorable prognosis with surgical treatment clinically.
METHODS
Nine patients with SPEN of the pancreas who were pathologically confirmed at the Dong-A University Medical Center were analyzed retrospectively. Clinical data, including clinical manifestation, diagnostic maneuvers, surgical treatment modality, and prognosis were evaluated.
RESULTS
Six out of nine patients were females with a mean age of 28 (range, 15~52) years. Except in 2 cases, all patients presented with either a palpable abdominal mass (5 cases) or abdominal pain (2 cases). The tumors ranged in size from 3.8 to 18 (average size, 11.4) cm. Five were located in the body, 3 in the tail, and 1 in the head. SPEN was diagnosed preoperatively in 6 patients by abdominal ultrasonography and/or CT. All patients underwent surgical resection, which included subtotal pancreatectomies (4 cases), distal pancreatectomies (4 cases, 1 by laparoscopically) and local excision (1 case). All patiests are survived without evidence of recurrence with a mean follow up of 53.1 (range, 26~69) months.
CONCLUSION
SPEN of the pancreas is low-malignant in character, and complete surgical excision is the treatment of choice which warrants a long-term survival.