Surgery Versus Observation for Asymptomatic Nonfunctioning Pancreatic Neuroendocrine Tumors

Non-functioning pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors account for 2% of all pancreatic malignancies, most of them are benign and sporadic. The most common image studies for their characterization are CT, MRI, endoscopic ultrasound, and PET. Serum Chromogranine A is the most common tumor marker for PNETs and it is used for the diagnosis as well as for surveillance. Surgical resection, either open or laparoscopic is the treatment of choice for all symptomatic sporadic tumors as well as for malignant tumors in the absence of extra pancreatic extension, lymph node or hepatic metastases.