AUTHOR=Pea Antonio , Tanno Lulu , Nykänen Taina , Prasad Pooja , Tunçer Ceren , Robinson Stuart , Marchegiani Giovanni 

TITLE=Comparison of Oncological and Surgical Outcomes Between Formal Pancreatic Resections and Parenchyma-Sparing Resections for Small PanNETs (<2 cm): Pancreas2000 Research and Educational Program (Course 9) Study Protocol

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2020.00559

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2020.00559

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<p>Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PanNETs) are rare tumors but incidence is increasing. An increasing number of these tumors are diagnosed incidentally when they are small (&lt;2 cm) and when patients are asymptomatic. The European Neuroendocrine Tumor Society (ENETS) recommends conservative watch and wait policy for these patients. However, best surgical approach (parenchyma-sparing or formal oncological resection) for these small tumors when surgery is indicated is currently unknown. Parenchyma-sparing resections such as enucleation is associated with higher risk of post-operative morbidity compared to formal oncological resections. They are also be associated with potentially inadequate surgical margin clearance and with lack of lymphadenectomy for full pathological staging.</p><p><bold>Method:</bold> This study is a retrospective study and the aim is to analyze pre-operative clinical predictors of nodal metastases for small PanNETs to identify which patients are at a lower risk of lymph node metastases and are therefore suitable for parenchyma-sparing resection.</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The primary endpoint of this study is to determine if pre-operative clinical predictors such as tumor size are associated with lymph node involvement in small PanNETs.</p>