Solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm of the pancreas in children.

Solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm of the pancreas is an uncommon low-grade malignant tumor found predominantly in young females. In this paper, the authors report the tumor's clinical characteristics and the results of surgery in six children. Six cases of solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm of the pancreas pathologically verified at Seoul National University Children's Hospital between 1985 and 1997 were retrospectively analyzed. Four were girls and two were boys, and their mean age at surgery was 11.2 years (range 8-13 years). All patients presented with an abdominal mass and tumor ranging in size from 6.5 x 6.0 cm to 10.5 x 8.0 cm. Five were located in the head and one in the tail of the pancreas; exploration showed that no case involved local invasion or metastasis. All patients underwent complete resection, which involved five pancreaticoduodenectomies and one distal pancreatectomy. No patient died during surgery, and after a mean follow-up period of 5.5 years (range 1.5-12.5 years) all were alive with no recurrences. We believe that the malignancy of this tumor is low grade and that the prognosis is good. For a neoplasm arising anywhere in the pancreas, complete resection is the treatment of choice. Solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm of the pancreas of children shows less female preponderance in children than in adults.