Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015:10:118-20.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijscr.2015.03.040. Epub 2015 Mar 25.

A pancreatic pseudopapillary tumor enucleated curatively

Serdar Karakas  1 , Abuzer Dirican  2 , Vural Soyer  1 , Süleyman Koç  1 , Veysel Ersan  3 , Mustafa Ates  3
Affiliations

A pancreatic pseudopapillary tumor enucleated curatively

Serdar Karakas et al. Int J Surg Case Rep. 2015.

Abstract

Introduction: Pseudopapillary tumors (PPT) of the pancreas are very rare, comprising 0.3-2.7% of all pancreatic tumors, and they occur mostly in young women. Generally, they are benign, but in rare cases they can enlarge, invade adjacent organs, and metastasize distantly. Radiological assessments and biochemical markers are important for diagnosing tumor characteristics. The main treatment is tumor resection.

Presentation of case: An 18-year-old female was referred to our department suffering from abdominal discomfort and upper quadrant abdominal pain. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed a 6-×5-cm mass between the pancreatic head and right adrenal gland (Fig. 1). The histological assessment was a solid PPT of the pancreas with intact surgical borders.

Discussion: PPT are very rare, comprising approximately 5% of cystic pancreatic tumors and ∼1% of exocrine pancreatic neoplasms and present mainly during the second and third decades of life. PPTs are usually indolent tumors. As such, they tend to produce vague nonspecific symptoms or may be detected incidentally on imaging. Complete surgical resection (R0) is the most effective therapy for PPT.

Conclusion: Although PPT is a very rare, benign tumor, it has the potential to metastasize to adjacent and distant organs. Consequently, they should be detected early, so that they can be treated surgically before malignant conversion.

Keywords: Enucleation; Pancreas; Pseudopapillary.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
6 × 5 cm mass between pancreatic head, and right surrena.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mass between duodenum and pancreatic head.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Tipton S.G., Smyrk T.C., Sarr M.G., Thompson G.B. Malignant potential of solid pseudopapillary neoplasm of the pancreas. Br. J. Surg. 2006;93(6):733–737. - PubMed
    1. Kang C.M., Kim K.S., Choi J.S., Kim H., Lee W.J., Kim B.R. Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas suggesting malignant potential. Pancreas. 2006;32(3):276–280. - PubMed
    1. Zauls J.A., Dragun A.E., Sharma A.K. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy for unresectable solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas. Am. J. Clin. Oncol. 2006;29(6):639–640. - PubMed
    1. Frantz V.K. Papillary tumors of the pancreas: benign or malignant tumors of the pancreas. In: Frantz U.K., editor. Atlas of Tumor Pathology, 1st Series, Fascicles 27 and 28. Armed Forces Institute of Pathology; Washington, DC: 1959. pp. 32–33.
    1. Sperti C., Berselli M., Pasquali C., Pastorelli D., Pedrazzoli S. Aggressive behavior of solid-pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas in adults: a case report and review of the literature. World J. Gastroenterol. 2008;14:960–965. [PMID: 18240360] - PMC - PubMed