title: Frequency and characterization of benign lesions in patients undergoing surgery for the suspicion of solid pancreatic neoplasm.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A diagnosis of benign lesions (BLs) is reported in 5% to 21% of pancreatoduodenectomies performed for neoplasms; no data for body-tail resections are available. The aims were to investigate the frequency and characterize the BLs mimicking cancer in the head and the body-tail of the pancreas.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study is a retrospective review of pancreatic specimenscollected from 2005 to 2011 in the pathology database of Mainz (Germany). Patients with final diagnosis excluding malignancy were analyzed by histology, imaging, and clinical aspects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among 373 patients, 33 patients (8.8%) were diagnosed with a benign disease: 25 (8.4%) of 298 in the pancreatic head and 8 (10.7%) of 75 in the body-tail resections. Paraduodenal pancreatitis was diagnosed in 13 (3.5%) of 373 patients; autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP), in 11 (2.9%); "ordinary" chronic pancreatitis, in 6 (1.6%); and accessory spleen, in 3 (0.8%). In pancreatic head resections, the most frequent diagnoses were paraduodenal pancreatitis (13/298, 4.4%) and AIP (9/298, 3%), whereas in the body-tail, the most frequent diagnoses were accessory spleen (3/75, 4%), chronic pancreatitis (3/75, 4%), and AIP (2/75, 2.7%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Benign lesions are observed with the same frequency inspecimens of the head or the body-tail of the pancreas.
authors: From the *Department of Medicine, Pancreas Center, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; and †Institute of Pathology, ‡Department of Internal Medicine, §Department of Surgery, and ∥Department of Radiology, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
authors: Francesco
authors: F
authors: Vitali
authors: Torsten
authors: T
authors: Hansen
authors: Ralf
authors: R
authors: Kiesslich
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Heinrich
authors: Anisha
authors: A
authors: Kumar
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Mildenberger
authors: Antonio
authors: A
authors: Amodio
authors: Luigi
authors: L
authors: Benini
authors: Italo
authors: I
authors: Vantini
authors: Luca
authors: L
authors: Frulloni
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D002828:Choristoma / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010180:Pancreatectomy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013154:Spleen / Q000002:abnormalities; D063189:Symptom Assessment; D019564:Unnecessary Procedures; D055815:Young Adult