title: Clinical analysis of childhood pancreatoblastoma arising from the tail of the pancreas.
abstract: Pancreatoblastoma is a rare pancreatic tumor. In this study, 3 cases of childhood pancreatoblastoma that arise from the tail of the pancreas were reported. Abdominal pain and vomiting were observed in 1 case considering the huge size of the tumor. The other 2 patients, who were previously well, complained of a mass in the abdomen after a casual physical examination. Elevated serum α-fetoprotein levels were noted in all cases. Imaging findings indicated a well-defined heterogeneous large mass in the left retroperitoneal space. Exploratory laparotomy revealed a large mass, arising from the tail of the pancreas. Surgery alone with complete excision of the masses was performed. Immunohistochemical staining showed that only α-fetoprotein was positive in all cases. All of these 3 cases have a good outcome in the follow-up without adjuvant chemotherapy. These data suggest that the diagnosis of pancreatoblastoma is difficult and should be suspected at palpation of an abdominal mass. α-Fetoprotein may serve as a tumor marker for preoperative diagnosis and postoperative recurrence. Pancreatoblastoma arising from the tail of the pancreas is a curable tumor, and adjuvant chemotherapy may not be necessary if the tumor can be excised completely.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, PR China. xcxcxc52229081@163.com
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Weiya
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Zhoujian
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins