Solid pseudopapillary neoplasms of the pancreas: is there a pathologic basis for the observed gender differences in...

The fact that solid pseudopapillary neoplasms of the pancreas (SPNP) occur predominantly in young women suggests that genetic and/or gender-specific factors may play a role in the pathogenesis. Therefore, SPNP derived from male patients may exhibit different molecular or clinicopathologic characteristics compared to SPNP derived from female patients.

We compared the immunohistologic staining patterns and presence of sex hormone receptors of SPNP obtained from 4 male and 11 female patients. In addition, we analyzed the clinical data from 285 (21 male and 264 female) previously reported patients with SPNP and our 15 patients.

All 15 of the neoplasms were positive for progesterone, but negative for estrogen and androgen receptors. There were no immunohistologic differences between the genders. An analysis of all reported patients revealed no significant differences in patient age, size or location of the neoplasm, or malignancy rate.

Although female patients with SPNP outnumbered male patients with SPNP, there were no gender-specific trends in expression of sex hormone receptor protein or clinicopathologic characteristics.