An Unusual Presentation of a Solid Pseudopapillary Tumor of the Pancreas Mimicking Adenocarcinoma

Abstract

Solid pseudopapillary tumors of the pancreas are rare and typically occur in young women. Compared with pancreatic adenocarcinoma, solid pseudopapillary tumors are characterized by notable indolent biological behavior associated with a favorable prognosis. Despite their large size, these tumors rarely metastasize. Even in cases of hepatic metastasis, most lesions are usually solitary in distribution and are amenable to resection. We report a case of a 55-year-old man with a small solid pseudopapillary tumor (≤3-cm diameter) mimicking a pancreatic adenocarcinoma, with multiple hepatic metastases. The diagnosis was confirmed by endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy using a 22-G core needle. Unfortunately, rapid tumor progression led to patient mortality 5 months after diagnosis. To our knowledge, this is the first case report that describes a small solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas with multiple hepatic metastasis and poor prognosis in a patient who was diagnosed with this condition at the time of initial diagnosis.

Keywords

• endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy
• neoplasm metastasis
• pancreatic neoplasm