Retrospective study of splenectomy specimens with clinical and pathological features in Southern Iran

The spleen is the target of numerous non-neoplastic and uncommon neoplastic lesions. Our study's objective was to evaluate the main indications and clinicopathologic features of a large number of splenectomy specimens from southern Iran, with a focus on splenic neoplasms. This five-year retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out on all splenectomy specimens from two referring centers. The hospital-recorded files and hematoxylin and eosin histopathology slides were reviewed in order to collect demographic information, the primary causes of splenectomy, and histopathological findings. Immunohistochemistry was performed in cases of splenic neoplasms. Of the 803 splenectomy cases, splenic rupture from accidents accounted for 36.3% and hematologic diseases for 31.1% of the procedures. Splenectomies were performed in 24% of cases as a result of staging and surgery for other cancers of the abdominal organs; in general, 3.4% were involved by direct tumor invasion or metastasis. Hydatid cysts, epithelial cysts, pseudocysts, granulomatous inflammation, and storage diseases, in order, accounted for 6.6% of spleens with the non-neoplastic lesions. The 1.8% of cases that were primary splenic neoplasms included 10 vascular tumor cases (including 4 hamartomas, 3 littoral cell angiomas, 1 hemangioma, 1 lymphangioma, and 1 sclerosing angiomatoid nodular transformation) and 4 lymphoma instances, all of which were DLBCL. As the spleen has numerous physiologic functions, it has the capacity to cause numerous traumatic, hematologic, infectious, benign, or malignant primary or metastatic neoplastic lesions. Many different pathologies should therefore be considered when evaluating the pathologic status of splenectomy cases.