Epidemiology of pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms: a gender perspective

Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms (PNENs) are a group of clinically rare and heterogeneous tumors of the pancreas. Currently there are no studies investigating the gender difference in PNEN susceptibility. Thus, the purpose of this study was aimed at examining how gender shapes risk factors, clinicopathological features, and comorbidities in PNENs.

The study design consisted of an Italian multicenter, retrospective study. The study included all consecutive patients with PNENs followed at the participating centers. Two hundred and twenty-nine patients (105 males,124 females, age 54 ± 0.98 years) with PNENs were enrolled at the participating centers. The clinicopathological features (age, gender, BMI, histology, tumor size, tumor grade, distant metastasis, hormonal function, and diagnostic circumstances), comorbidities (cardiovascular diseases (CVD), pancreatitis, type 2 diabetes (T2DM), and potential risk factors (smoking and drinking) were included in the analysis.

Females were slightly prevalent (54.15%). PNENs were diagnosed at younger age in females compared to males (p = 0.04). The prevalence of CVD was significantly higher in males than in females (p = 0.006). In the female group, the presence of T2DM was significantly associated with higher tumor grade (p = 0.04) and metastatic disease (p = 0.02). The proportion of smokers and alcohol drinkers was significantly higher in the male group (p < 0.001). No significant gender differences were detected regarding the other parameters included in the analysis.

This study has identified gender differences of PNENs in terms of age at diagnosis, associated comorbidities, and potential risk factors. A gender-tailored approach could become a potential strategy to better understand the natural history of PNENs and improve the effectiveness of PNENs clinical management.