On the morning of 18 March 2021, Mr. TVL, 48 years old, from Tran Van Thoi district, Ca Mau province, had his malignant splenic tumor successfully removed by Hoan My Cuu Long Hospital and Hoan My Minh Hai Hospital. The patient visited the hospital for lower left flank pain that had lasted about 4 months, during which the pain gradually increased without remission. Examination and diagnostic imaging showed that this was a rare splenic tumor requiring biopsy to see if the tumor was benign or malignant.

After consultation with specialists, a surgical team was formed with Nguyen Phi Hung, M.D., of Hoan My Cuu Long Hospital and Nguyen Tan Duong Quang, M.D., of Hoan My Minh Hai Hospital. It was decided that endoscopic surgery be performed, as the tumor was only in the spleen, not too large in size and did not cause blockage of nearby organs. Five days after surgery, the patient started to eat and perform activities of daily living as usual. The pathology report of the malignant tumors should be submitted to doctors for the next steps.

According to Dr. Quang, spleen Cancer is quite rare in Vietnam, with no specific statistics on the incidence of the disease. Spleen cancer can be treated by surgery, chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Surgery is the most common method of treating malignant splenic tumors, and, depending on the size and location of the tumor, the doctor will decide to remove the tumor by endoscopy or open surgery. Endoscopic surgery helps patients recover from surgery faster.

Patients should visit the hospital for checkups in the presence of lower left flank pain or if a tumor is under the left flank, to detect possible splenic tumors.

Dr. Quang said that there are no specific preventive measures for this disease, but the risk factors can be reduced if we practice a healthy lifestyle, including safe sex to avoid HIV and EPV infection, etc., reducing exposure to toxic chemicals such as benzene, which is commonly used in the manufacture of plastic products, rubber, dyes, detergents and pesticides, maintaining a healthy weight with a well-structured diet, and having a smoke-free lifestyle and a healthy limit on drinking.