Resection Versus Observation for Small (≤2 cm) Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

We hypothesized that those patients with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) ≤2 cm managed nonoperatively would have comparable disease progression to individuals undergoing an operation.

Patients diagnosed with nonfunctional pNETs ≤ 2 cm who were evaluated at a single comprehensive cancer center from 2010 to 2017 were selected from a cancer registry database. Clinicopathologic variables were obtained via retrospective chart review. Primary outcomes were overall and disease specific survival. Variables were compared between the 2 groups using chi-square and independent t-test.

Fifty-two individuals had tumors ≤2 cm, of whom 75% had an operation, while 25% were observed. Each treatment arm had similar distributions of gender, race, and tumor location. The most common operation was distal pancreatectomy (n = 29) followed by pancreatoduodenectomy (n = 6). Nine patients had grade III postoperative complications and 4 had grade IV under Clavien-Dindo classification. The observation group was noted to have a mean disease progression interval of 80.9 months, while those who underwent an operation had a mean disease progression interval of 94.6 months (P = .246).

Overall disease progression in patients with pNETs ≤ 2 cm without evidence of metastasis at the time of presentation is not different between those who underwent operation compared to those observed.