Abstract:

Pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm is a type of heterogeneous tumors with characteristic neuroendocrine differentiation, which is derived from neuroendocrine cells and peptidergic neurons. From the histopathological perspective, pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm can be divided into well-differentiated neuroendocrine tumors, lowly-differentiated neuroendocrine cancers and mixed neuroendocrine-non-neuroendocrine neoplasm. Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors can also be classified into functional and nonfunctional types according to whether they are accompanied by clinical symptoms caused by hormone secretion. According to whether germ-line mutation or deletion of pathogenic genes occurs, pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasm can be divided into sporadic and hereditary types. The incidence and detection rates of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors are increasing, which may be associated with the occasionally-detected increase in the diagnostic number of small nonfunctioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Consequently, this type of tumors has attracted increasing attention. However, the optimal treatment of small nonfunctional pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors remains controversial. Based on the research results and clinical experience of our center, the author systematically reviewed the progress of diagnosis and treatment of this tumor from the perspective of surgery.

Key words: Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, Small, Non-functional, Surgical procedures, Precision therapy