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 growth or metastases have been observed only rarely until now. METHODS The 53-yr-old female patient we report on here was treated by radical partial pancreatoduodenectomy for a nonmetastasizing solid-pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreatic head (T1bN0M0) 19 mo ago. RESULTS Histopathological studies made a definitive diagnosis of solid-pseudopapillary 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 radical 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 semimalignant solid-pseudopapillary tumor has a favorable prognosis.