ENDOSCOPIC DIAGNOSIS OF CYSTIC TUMORS OF THE PANCREAS (INCLUDING CYSTIC CHANGES IN SOLID TUMORS)

Abstract

Pancreatic cystic lesions are increasingly discovered incidentally and without symptoms. The types of pancreatic cysts encountered in clinical practice are limited in number but frequent, and several differential diagnoses can be made by understanding the pathology and imaging features of each disease. It is important to differentiate between intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs), mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs), and serous cystic neoplasms (SCNs) in cystic tumors. In certain cases, cystic changes within a solid tumor or the formation of a retention cyst or pseudocyst around a solid tumor may present as a mixture of solid and cystic lesions and should be considered in the differential diagnosis.