Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas: the surgical procedures

To evaluate the clinicopathological characteristics of solid pseudopapillary tumor and assess the curative effects of different procedures.

A retrospective review was performed in 34 patients with this tumor surgically treated between January 2000 and June 2008. These patients were divided into minimized and standard resection groups. The clinical data of the two groups were analyzed.

Thirty-one females and three males were included in this study. There were no significant differences in age, blood glucose, hemoglobin, and albumin between the two groups. The surgical time for patients with a standard resection was longer (225 vs 124 min, P = 0.004), the transfusion rate was higher (52.6% vs 13.3%, P = 0.030), and the hospital stay was prolonged (21 vs 16 days, P = 0.034) in comparison to those who underwent a minimized resection. The complications rate in the standard resection group was higher than that in the minimized resection group, although no significant difference was found (42.1% vs 26.7%, P = 0.476). The long-term follow-up showed that all of the patients survived without recurrence except for one patient who died of other diseases 29 months after surgery.

A solid pseudopapillary tumor is a latent malignant tumor with excellent prognosis after its complete removal. When feasible, a minimized resection, such as enucleation and a segmental pancreatectomy, is a suitable approach, with excellent early and long-term results.