Case Report
Copyright ©2012 Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Surg. Jul 27, 2012; 4(7): 180-184
Published online Jul 27, 2012. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v4.i7.180
Near-infrared fluorescence imaging of a solitary fibrous tumor of the pancreas using methylene blue
Joost R van der Vorst, Alexander L Vahrmeijer, Merlijn Hutteman, Tjalling Bosse, Vincent THBM Smit, Cornelis JH van de Velde, John V Frangioni, Bert A Bonsing
Joost R van der Vorst, Alexander L Vahrmeijer, Merlijn Hutteman, Cornelis JH van de Velde, Bert A Bonsing, Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands
Tjalling Bosse, Vincent THBM Smit, Department of Pathology, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands
John V Frangioni, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, United States
John V Frangioni, Department of Radiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215, United States
Author contributions: van der Vorst JR, Vahrmeijer AL, Hutteman M, van de Velde CJH, Frangoini JV and Bonsing BA designed the research; van der Vorst JR, Vahrmeijer AL, Hutteman M, Bosse T, Smit VTHBM, van de Velde CJH, Frangioni JV and Bonsing BA performed the research and wrote the manuscript.
Supported by (in part) NIH grant R01-CA-115296; and the Dutch Cancer Society grant UL2010-4732; the Center for Translational Molecular Medicine, project MUSIS (grant 03O-202)
Correspondence to: Joost R van der Vorst, MD, Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Albinusdreef 2, 2300 RC Leiden, The Netherlands. j.r.van_der_vorst@lumc.nl
Telephone: +31-71-5264744  Fax: +31-71-5266750
Received: November 8, 2011
Revised: March 27, 2012
Accepted: June 5, 2012
Published online: July 27, 2012
Abstract

A 67-year-old female presented with unexplained abdominal pain. A contrast-enhanced computed tomography scan of the abdomen incidentally revealed a mass in the uncinate process of the pancreas. This mass was resected and based on histopathological findings, diagnosed as a solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) of the pancreas. A SFT is an extremely rare benign mesenchymal tumor that in 65% of cases affects the visceral pleura but can also affect extra-pleural sites. The intraoperative demarcation of pancreatic tumors, such as SFTs, can be challenging. In this report, the first clear intraoperative identification of a SFT of the pancreas in a human was shown using near-infrared fluorescence and methylene blue.

Keywords: Pancreatic solitary fibrous tumor, Near-infrared fluorescence, Image-guided surgery, Methylene blue