Pearls and Pitfalls
Nonfunctioning pancreatic endocrine tumors (PET) are uncommon neoplasms.
Nonfunctioning PETs present with symptoms of local growth or may be increasingly found incidentally on radiographic studies.
Beware of a patient with the diagnosis of unresectable/metastatic pancreatic cancer surviving longer than expected; a PET may be present.
Nonfunctioning PETs may be cystic on imaging studies.
Complete resection of nonfunctioning PETs is associated with prolonged survival but recurrences are common and continued surveillance is warranted.
When metastases are present, few patients can undergo complete resection of the primary and metastases.
Selected patients with synchronous low volume unresectable liver metastases who have a symptomatic primary may benefit from its removal.
Surgical treatment of nonfunctioning PETs in patients with MEN-1 should be individualized and aim to remove all visible tumors while preventing the metabolic complications associated with endocrine and...
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Solórzano, C.C., Prinz, R.A. (2009). Nonfunctioning Pancreatic Endocrine Tumors. In: Bland, K.I., Büchler, M.W., Csendes, A., Sarr, M.G., Garden, O.J., Wong, J. (eds) General Surgery. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-84628-833-3_123
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