POLARISING FRANTZ TUMORS – BENIGN AND MALIGNANT SOLID PSEUDOPAPILLARY EPITHELIAL NEOPLASM OF PANCREAS - TWIN CASE REPORTS

Abstract

Solid pseudo-papillary epithelial neoplasm (SPEN), also known Hamoudi tumors or Franz tumors, are rare pancreatic neoplasm which are almost always seen in young women predominately of non-Caucasian descent with only a small minority of cases diagnosed in men [1]. The rst published description of an SPN was by Frantz in 1959[2].It is a rare tumor comprising of less than 3 percent of all pancreatic tumor. It is seen most often in the region of tail of pancreas. This tumor is mostly asymptomatic and usually detected when it reaches large size. These are tumors with low malignant potential and rarely vascular invasion and metastatic disease can be seen in aggressive cases. Here we report two cases, one each of benign SPEN and malignant SPEN with contrasting imaging ndings and polar outcomes.