Solid pseudopapillary tumour of the pancreas in a child: case report

Abstract

Introduction Solid pseudopapillary tumour of the pancreas, though rare, is a low-grade malignancy with indolent behaviour. It is encountered predominantly in young females, although it has been seen in males and children. Most patients present with vague non- specificabdominalpainresultingin� delayed diagnosis. Therefore diagno- sis of this tumour may be an inciden- talfindingduringdiagnosticimaging� procedures or maybe assumed when a young women presents with an asymptomatic palpable mass. Traditionally the presence of a large bulky pancreatic tumour in a child should raise suspicion of the diagno- sis of pancreotoblastoma. This study reports a case of a solid pseudopapil- lary tumour of the pancreas in a child. Case report We present a case of an eight-year-old child presenting with pain and a lump in the epigastric region. Computerised tomography was subsequently per- formed to localise the mass accu- rately. Computed tomography showed a minimally enhancing solid mass in the head and proximal body of the pancreas compressing the second and third part of the duodenum and measuring 7.2 × 6.9 × 6.4 cm. Conclusion This case report highlights the fact that with characteristic imaging fea- tures the diagnosis of solid pseudo- papillary tumour of the pancreas should be considered irrespective of theageprofileofthepatient.