Solid pseudopapillary neoplasms of the pancreas in children

Abstract

Solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPNs) are very rare pancreatic tumors in children. We present clinical presentation, tumor characteristic, surgical management and outcome of SPNs at our institute. There were four patients (3 males, 1 female) undergoing pancreatectomy for SPNs with median age of 11.5 years (10 - 14 years). Presenting symptoms were abdominal pain (n = 4), palpable abdominal mass (n = 2) and vomiting (n = 2). All patients had tumor located in the pancreatic body, and in two of them, the tumor also involved the pancreatic tail. Three patients underwent distal pancreatectomy and one patient underwent central pancreatectomy. The median maximal diameter of tumor was 7.5 cm (3.5 - 12.5 cm). Neither tumor involving surgical margins in all patients nor distant metastasis was detected. There has been no recurrence at the median follow-up period of 32.6 months (1 - 57 months). Although SPNs are rare, they should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic tumor even in male children. In children, these tumors are usually resectable and pancreatectomy with negative margin provides good prognosis.