Solid pseudopapillary neoplasms of the pancreas: Is there a factor determining the prognosis? Experience of a single institution

Abstract

Solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPNs) are frequently seen in young women. Although the behavior pattern varies, these rare lesions generally have a low malignant potential. In this study, the aim was to investigate the effect of clinicopathological features of lesions on the recurrence in and survival of patients. In this study, patients of our clinic who were pathologically diagnosed with SPN after pancreatic surgery between July 2008 and December 2020 were evaluated retrospectively. Patients’ age, gender, comorbidities, symptoms at the time of application, preoperative CA 19-9, CEA value, preoperative cross-sectional diagnostic imaging method and lesion characteristics, surgery, postoperative complications, length of hospital stay, and histopathological features were evaluated. Early and late mortality, overall survival, disease-free survival, and recurrence rate were determined. Four of the 23 patients diagnosed with SPN were male and the median age was 29 (23–47) years. Of the study patients, 69.56% experienced pain symptoms and 30.43% were asymptomatic. The median tumor size was 4 cm (1.5–15). The most common surgical procedure was distal pancreatectomy (56.5%). The median length of hospital stays was 5 (3–120) days and morbidity was observed in 9 cases (39.13%). The mortality rate was 4.35%. The mean follow-up period in the series was 53 (8–132) months and none of the patients developed recurrence. In this study, no significant difference was found regarding recurrence in patients with SPN with histopathologically aggressive biological behavior. The overall survival rate was 95.7%. SPNs are rare lesions with low malignant potential. SPNs are associated with longer-term survival after surgical resection.