Abstract: Objective To investigate the diagnosis and treatment of splenic space occupying lesions associated with comorbidity. 
Methods The clinical data of 5 patients from Jiangyin People′s Hospital and 9 patients from Wuxi People′s Hospital from January 2002 to June 2012 were retrospectively analyzed.All the patients suffered from splenic space occupying lesions associated with comorbidity. Splenectomy or multivisceral resection were selected according to the results of preoperative B sonography and computed tomography examination. Chemotherapy regimes were selected based on postoperative pathological examination. All the patients were followed up till June 2013.
Results The symptoms of patients with splenic space occupying lesions were non specific. The first symptoms of 4 patients were discomfort or distending pain of left upper abdomen, and the other 10 patients had no symptoms. The coincidence rate of preoperative diagnosis was 10/14, and the coincidence rate of preoperative diagnosis for patients with malignant tumors was 2/5. Fourteen patients received preoperative B ultra sonography, and 9 were definitively diagnosed. Nine patients received computed tomography, and 7 were definitively diagnosed. Of the 14 patients, right ovarian cancer, bilateral ovarian cancer and sigmoid colon cancer were correlated with solitary splenic metastasis, and the main lesions of the other 11 patients were not correlated with splenic space occupying lesions. The main lesions of patients with left colon carcinoma, type 2 diabetes and vascular tumor of the spleen, patients with renal carcinoma and splenic sclerosing hemangioma, and patients with hypertension, cholecystolithiasis and splenic lymphangioma were diagnosed simultaneously with the splenic space occupying lesions, and the main lesions of the other 11 patients were diagnosed separately with the splenic space occupying lesions. Ten patients underwent simple splenectomy and 4 patients received multivisceral resection. Chemotherapy regimens were selected according to the type of main lesions for 5 patients who were diagnosed by pathological examinations. All the patients were recovered smoothly with no occurrence of severe infections. Two patients with splenic sarcoma had tumor metastasis at postoperative 6 months and 1 year, respectively. One patient with right ovarian cancer and solitary splenic metastasis had transverse colonic metastasis at postoperative 3 years. One patient with bilateral ovarian cancer and solitary splenic metastasis had peritoneal metastasis at postoperative 2 years. One patient with sigmoid colon cancer and solitary splenic metastasis died of peritoneal tumor recurrence at post operative 4 years. One patient with left colon carcinoma, type 2 diabetes and vascular tumor of the spleen survived for 6 years and was still sound and well. The other 9 patients with benign disease survived within the period of follow up.
Conclusions The definitive  diagnosis for patients with splenic space occupying disease associated with comorbidity depends on the preoperative imaging examination and postoperative pathological examination. Surgical treatment is safe when operative contraindications are excluded. The prognosis of patients is determined by the progress of main lesions and the character of splenic space occupying lesions.