Solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas

Background. Its considerable size at the time of diagnosis and low grade of malignancy are typical features of the solid-pseudopapillary tumor, which has a tendency to predominantly affect young females. A relationship to the long-term intake of oral contraceptives is discussed. Invasive tumor growt h or metastases have been observed only rarely until now. Methods. The 53-yr-old female patient we report on here was treated by radi cal partial pancreatoduodenectomy for a nonmetastasizing solid-pseudopapill ary tumor of the pancreatic head (T1bN0M0) 19 mo ago. Results. Histopathological studies made a definitive diagnosis of solid-pse udopapillary tumor. The patient is recurrence-free, and there are no signs of metastases at present. Since a microscopically invasive tumor growth is assumed, oncologically curative resection should be preferred vs the less r adical enucleation. Conclusion. In this report, a case of the rare solid-pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas is described. In contrast to other pancreatic tumors, the s emimalignant solid-pseudopapillary tumor has a favorable prognosis.