Pancreatic cystic lesions are a group of pancreatic neoplasms with different behavior and risk of malignancy. Imaging diagnosis and differentiation of these lesions remain a challenge.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the agreement between computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging and post-operative pathologic diagnoses of Pancreatic cystic lesions in a University Hospital of São Paulo State.
A total of 39 patients with surgically diagnosed Pancreatic cystic lesions were enrolled, as a study cohort from 2009 to 2019. Preoperative radiological and final pathological diagnosis was correlated to measure computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging diagnostic. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma, choledochal pancreatic cyst, mucinous cystadenoma, serous cystadenoma, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms, and pancreatic pseudocyst were classified as neoplastic cysts.
It was noted that 27 patients (69.23%) had preoperative computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, 11 patients (28.20%) had preoperative computed tomography only, and 1 patient had preoperative magnetic resonance imaging only. The values for diagnoses made only with computed tomography (p=0.47) and from the combination of computed tomography+magnetic resonance imaging (p=0.50) did also point to moderate agreement with the anatomopathological findings. The values pointed to a fair agreement for the diagnosis of mucinous cystadenoma (p=0.3), moderate agreement for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (p= 0.41), good agreement for serous cystadenoma (p=0.79), and excellent agreement for choledochal pancreatic cyst (p=1), pancreatic pseudocyst (p=0.84), and Frantz tumor (p=1) (p<0.05).
The findings of computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging have an equivalent diagnostic agreement with an anatomopathological diagnosis for differentiating benign from malignant Pancreatic cystic lesions and in suggesting a specific diagnosis. There is no statistical difference between the use of computed tomography alone and computed tomography+magnetic resonance imaging in the improvement of diagnostic accuracy.
Many patients with serous cystadenoma of the pancreas (SCP) underwent surgery due to diagnostic doubt.
The aim of this study was to analyze the causes of low accuracy in diagnosing SCP.
This is a retrospective study of patients with SCP from a database of two hepatopancreatic biliary surgery outpatient clinics between 2006 and 2020. Patients with typical SCP lesions in imaging exams (e.g., tomography, magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], and endoscopic ultrasound [EUS]) and patients whose pathological testing confirmed this diagnosis were included.
A total of 27 patients were included in this study. Most patients were women (85.18%), and the mean age was 63.4 years. Only one patient had typical pancreatitis symptoms. MRI was the most performed method (62.9%). The lesion was single in 88.9%, and the average size was 4 cm. The typical microcystic aspect was found in 66.6%. EUS was performed in 29.6% of cases. The mean carcinoembryonic antigen value in patients undergoing cyst puncture was 198.25 ng/mL. Surgical treatment was performed in 10 cases (37%). The cause of surgery in seven of these cases was due to a suspicion of mucinous cystadenoma based on an identification of atypical lesions (unilocular with or without septa and macrocystic) in imaging exams. A suspicion of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm with “worrying factors” was the indication for surgery in two cases. The last case underwent surgical treatment for a solid-looking lesion which was suspected of cancer. The complication rate ≥Clavien-Dindo 2 was 30%, and the clinically relevant pancreatic fistula rate (B and C) was 30%. Mortality was nil.
The atypical morphological presentation of SCP, particularly unilocular and macrocystic lesions, is the main indication for surgery. Only the implementation of new, efficient, and reproducible diagnostic methods can reduce the number of unnecessary surgeries among these patients.
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