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Imaging Diagnosis of Cystic Pancreatic Lesions: Pseudocyst versus Nonpseudocyst¹

¹ From the Department of Radiology, UMass Memorial, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 55 Lake Ave North, Worcester, MA 01655 (Y.H.K.); the Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass (S.S., D.S., P.F.H., P.R.M.); and the Department of Radiology, New York Presbyterian Hospital, Cornell University, New York, NY (Y.H.A.). Presented as an education exhibit at the 2003 RSNA Scientific Assembly. Received May 14, 2004; revision requested July 26 and received September 21; accepted September 22. All authors have no financial relationships to disclose. Address correspondence to Y.H.K. (e-mail: kimy{at}ummhc.org).

Although the clinical, radiologic, and pathologic features of cystic pancreatic lesions are well known, preoperative diagnosis is difficult. Differentiation between a pancreatic pseudocyst and a cystic pancreatic neoplasm is crucial in determining the proper treatment. Careful evaluation of the patient’s clinical history is important for accurate diagnosis of a pseudocyst. Clinical scenarios include a pseudocyst developing after acute pancreatitis and a pseudocyst superimposed on chronic pancreatitis. However, a pseudocyst in a patient with no clinical history of pancreatitis poses a diagnostic problem. The differential diagnosis of a neoplastic cystic lesion of the pancreas includes serous cystadenoma, mucinous cystic neoplasms, intraductal papillary mucinous tumor, and solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm. Definitive diagnosis is often possible when the lesion has a typical radiologic appearance, but in many cases characterization with imaging alone is impossible. Thin-section computed tomography with multiplanar reformation, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, and endoscopic ultrasonography have emerged as modalities that can provide additional diagnostic information. Familiarity with the range of imaging appearances and awareness of the diagnostic strengths and limitations of each imaging modality are important for accurate diagnosis and management of cystic pancreatic lesions.

© RSNA, 2005

Abbreviations: ERCP = endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, IPMT = intraductal papillary mucinous tumor, SPEN = solid and papillary epithelial neoplasm

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