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A 64-year-old man was referred to our department after a small pancreatic cystic lesion was discovered on computed tomography performed to assess choledocholithiasis. Multiple standard imaging modalities, including endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), failed to reveal pancreatic masses, wall thickening, or mural nodules. Consequently, a benign pancreatic cystic lesion was suspected, and the patient underwent biannual imaging studies including rotating magnetic resonance imaging and EUS. Six years after the initial detection of the pancreatic cyst, wall thickening was observed, leading to a shortened observation period of once every 3 months. After 6.5 years, hypoechoic area surrounding the cyst, which could be interpreted as thickening of the cyst wall was observed, prompting distal pancreatectomy due to the suspicion of malignant disease. The histopathological examination revealed a unilocular mucinous cyst with a single layer of cuboidal cells and low-grade dysplasia. A fibrous proliferation of the polycystic stroma and no ovarian-type stroma was observed. Malignant cells were absent from the cystic epithelium and stroma. The final histopathological diagnosis was a simple mucinous cyst of the pancreatic tail., (© 2024. Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.)

Background & Aims: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided pancreatic cyst ablation (EUS-PCA) is performed as an alternative to surgical resection in selected patients with pancreatic cystic tumors (PCTs). We aimed to directly compare the long-term outcomes between EUS-PCA and surgery for PCTs., Methods: We reviewed a PCT database to identify patients with unilocular or oligolocular PCTs who underwent EUS-PCA or surgery between January 2004 and July 2019. We performed 1:1 propensity score matching based on potential confounding factors. The primary outcome was long-term morbidities. Secondary outcomes included early (≤14 days) and late (>14 days) major adverse events (MAEs), development of diabetes mellitus, readmission, length of hospital stay, and therapeutic efficacy., Results: A total of 620 patients (EUS-PCA, n = 310; surgery, n = 310) were selected after propensity score matching. The EUS-PCA group showed a lower 10-year rate of cumulative long-term morbidities (1.6% vs 33.5%; P = .001) as well as lower rates of early MAE (1.0% vs 8.7%; P = .001), late MAE (0.3% vs 5.5%; P = .001), and readmission (1.0% vs 15.2%; P = .001). The EUS-PCA group had a shorter hospital stay (3.5 vs 10.3 d; P = .001) and a lower incidence of diabetes mellitus (2.2% vs 22.8%; P = .001), whereas the surgery group had a higher complete resolution rate (76.5% vs 100%; P = .001) and a lower relapse rate (4.6% vs 0.3%; P = .001)., Conclusions: For select patients with PCTs, EUS-PCA showed superior results to surgery in terms of long-term safety profile and preservation of pancreatic function., (Copyright © 2024 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

A 66-year-old man was initially suspected of having a microcystic serous cystic neoplasm based on magnetic resonance imaging findings of a multifocal mass measuring 46 mm in the pancreatic head, with a cystic component showing a high signal on T2-weighted images. The tumor marker levels were within normal limits. However, contrast-enhanced computed tomography revealed thick cyst walls with delayed staining, which was atypical for serous cystic neoplasms; therefore, the patient was followed up closely. Twenty-two months later, the delayed contrast area was enlarged, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 levels were elevated, and 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography revealed increased accumulation, indicating a potentially malignant lesion. Pancreatoduodenectomy was performed and histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of normal-type pancreatic carcinoma with predominantly poorly differentiated cells. Based on the pathological findings and a literature review, it is highly likely that this case represents pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with a cystic structure from the beginning. While distinguishing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma from other pancreatic cystic tumors, such as serous cystic neoplasms, is critical owing to differing treatments and prognoses, caution is warranted as they may exhibit similar imaging features, as observed in our patient., (© 2024. Japanese Society of Gastroenterology.)

Competing Interests: Disclosure The author disclosed no financial relationships.

Background: Pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) has a considerable surgical risk for complications and late metabolic morbidity. Parenchyma-sparing resection of benign tumors has the potential to cure patients associated with reduced procedure-related short- and long-term complications., Materials and Methods: Pubmed, Embase, and Cochrane libraries were searched for studies reporting surgery-related complications following PD and duodenum-preserving total (DPPHRt) or partial (DPPHRp) pancreatic head resection for benign tumors. A total of 38 cohort studies that included data from 1262 patients were analyzed. In total, 729 patients underwent DPPHR and 533 PD., Results: Concordance between preoperative diagnosis of benign tumors and final histopathology was 90.57% for DPPHR. Cystic and neuroendocrine neoplasms (PNETs) and periampullary tumors (PATs) were observed in 497, 89, and 31 patients, respectively. In total, 34 of 161 (21.1%) patients with intraepithelial papillar mucinous neoplasm exhibited severe dysplasia in the final histopathology. The meta-analysis, when comparing DPPHRt and PD, revealed in-hospital mortality of 1/362 (0.26%) and 8/547 (1.46%) patients, respectively [OR 0.48 (95% CI 0.15-1.58); p = 0.21], and frequency of reoperation of 3.26 % and 6.75%, respectively [OR 0.52 (95% CI 0.28-0.96); p = 0.04]. After a follow-up of 45.8 ± 26.6 months, 14/340 patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms/mucinous cystic neoplasms (IPMN/MCN, 4.11%) and 2/89 patients with PNET (2.24%) exhibited tumor recurrence. Local recurrence at the resection margin and reoccurrence of tumor growth in the remnant pancreas was comparable after DPPHR or PD [OR 0.94 (95% CI 0.178-5.34); p = 0.96]., Conclusions: DPPHR for benign, premalignant neoplasms provides a cure for patients with low risk of tumor recurrence and significantly fewer early surgery-related complications compared with PD. DPPHR has the potential to replace PD for benign, premalignant cystic and neuroendocrine neoplasms., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) has rapidly evolved from a diagnostic to a therapeutic tool with applications for various pancreaticobiliary diseases. As part of this evolution, EUS-guided chemoablation for neoplastic pancreatic cysts is developing as a minimally invasive treatment option for appropriately selected mucinous cysts, which can spare patients major resective surgery and may reduce progression to pancreatic cancer. Chemotherapeutic cyst ablation has demonstrated encouraging complete resolution rates, while an alcohol-free chemoablation protocol has demonstrated a significant decrease in adverse events without a compromise to complete ablation rates when compared with previous alcohol-based protocols. Most pancreatic cysts are small, low risk, and best managed by surveillance per accepted guidelines. Cysts with features suggestive of overt malignancy are best discussed by a multidisciplinary committee, and surgery is considered if appropriate. However, for patients in the middle ground with cysts that are structurally suitable for chemoablation, alcohol-free chemoablation has been shown to allow effective, safe, and durable results especially for those who are not ideal operative candidates. EUS-guided alcohol-free chemoablation is promising and continues to evolve; however, as a relatively novel treatment option it has areas of uncertainty that will require further investigation and development., Competing Interests: Disclosure Drs M.T. Moyer and A. Canakis declare no relevant funding for this work or financial relationship., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To quantify the rate of progression in surveilled cysts and assess what factors should indicate delayed resection., Background: Side-branch intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (SB-IPMNs) are increasingly discovered, making it challenging to identify which patients require resection, thus avoiding inappropriate treatment. Most incidental lesions are surveyed, yet the consequences of that decision remain uncertain., Methods: A prospectively maintained database of pancreatic cystic neoplasms was queried for patients with SB-IPMN. Patients with ≥2 imaging studies >6 months apart were included. Clinically relevant progression (CR-progression) was defined by symptoms, worrisome/high-risk stigmata, or invasive cancer (IC). Growth ≥5 mm in 2 years is considered CR-progression; size ≥3 cm alone is not., Results: Between 1997 and 2023, 1337 patients were diagnosed with SB-IPMN. Thirty-seven (2.7%) underwent up-front surgery; 1000 (75.0%) had >6 months of surveillance.The rate of CR-progression was 15.3% (n = 153) based on size increase (n = 63, 6.3%), main-duct involvement (n = 48, 4.8%), symptoms (n = 8, 5.0%), or other criteria (n = 34, 3.4%). At a median follow-up of 6.6 years (interquartile range: 3.0-10.26), 17 patients (1.7%) developed IC. Those with CR-progression developed IC in 11.1% (n = 17) and high-grade dysplasia (HGD) in 6.5% (n = 10). Nearly half of the cancers were not contiguous with the surveyed SB-IPMN.Size ≥3 cm was not associated with HGD/IC ( P = 0.232). HGD/IC was least common in CR-progression determined by size growth (6.3%) versus main-duct involvement (24%) or other (43%, P < 0.001)Patients with CR-progression demonstrated improved survival (overall survival) with resection on time-to-event ( P < 0.001) and multivariate Cox regression (hazard ratio = 0.205, 0.096-0.439, P < 0.001) analyses. Overall survival was not improved with resection in all patients ( P = 0.244)., Conclusions: CR-progression for SB-IPMNs is uncommon, with the development of cancer anywhere in the pancreas being rare. Initial size should not drive resection. Long-term and consistent nonoperative surveillance is warranted, with surgery currently reserved for CR-progression, knowing that the majority of these still harbor low-grade pathology., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

BACKGROUND Hemorrhagic cysts are rarely discussed subtypes of pancreatic pseudocysts that occur in about 10% of these cases. They are caused by erosion of the walls of neighboring vessels by extravasated proteolytic pancreatic enzymes. A retrospective analysis was performed to clinically characterize risk factors, treatment, and outcome in patients with hemorrhagic cysts of the pancreas. MATERIAL AND METHODS The retrospective study included patients from the Department of Digestive Tract Surgery in Katowice, Poland, who were treated surgically for a pancreatic hemorrhagic cyst from January 2016 to November 2022. We gathered and assessed data on cyst etiology, symptoms, imaging examinations, risk factors, time, type, and complications of surgery. RESULTS The main symptom was abdominal pain, noted in 5 (62.5%) patients. The most common etiology of cyst was acute pancreatitis, which occurred in 5 patients (62.5%). The most common localization was the tail of pancreas, found in 3 patients (36.5%). The largest dimension of the cyst was 98±68 (30-200) mm. Every patient needed surgical intervention. Patients underwent distal pancreatectomy (n=3) or marsupialization (n=5). One (12.5%) postoperative complication was observed, while mortality was 0%. CONCLUSIONS Hemorrhagic cyst is a life-threatening complication of pancreatitis requiring immediate treatment. In most cases, open surgery is the treatment of choice. Despite the continuous development of minimally invasive techniques, surgical treatment remains the only effective treatment method. Depending on the cyst localization and technical possibilities, pancreatectomy or marsupialization can be applied, and both of them have low complication and mortality rates.

Currently, the most frequently used surgical treatment for symptomatic, benign, premalignant cystic and neuroendocrine neoplasms of the pancreatic head is the Whipple procedure or pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy (PD). However, when performed for treatment of benign tumors, PD is a multiorgan resection involving loss of pancreatic and extrapancreatic tissue and functions. PD for benign neoplasm is associated with the risk of considerable early postoperative complications and an in-hospital mortality of up to 5%. Following the Whipple procedure a new onset of diabetes mellitus is observed in 14-20% and new exocrine insufficiency in 25-45%, leading to metabolic dysfunction and impairment of quality of life persisting after resection of benign tumors. Symptomatic neoplasms are indication for surgery. Patients with asymptomatic pancreatic tumors are treated according to the criteria of surveillance protocols. The goal of surgical treatment for asymptomatic patients is, according to the guideline criteria, interruption of the surveillance program before the development of an advanced stage cancer associated with the neoplasm. Tumor enucleation and duodenum-preserving pancreatic head resection, either total or partial, are parenchyma-sparing resections for benign neoplasms of the pancreatic head. The first choice for small tumors is enucleation; however, enucleation is associated with an increased risk of pancreatic fistula B + C following pancreatic main duct injury. Duodenum-preserving total or partial pancreatic head resection has the advantage of low postoperative surgery-related complications, a mortality of < 0.5% and maintenance of the endocrine and exocrine pancreatic functions. Parenchyma-sparing pancreatic head resections should replace classical Whipple procedures for neoplasms of the pancreatic head., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests.

Objective: Serous cystic neoplasms (SCN) are benign pancreatic cystic neoplasms that may require resection based on local complications and rate of growth. We aimed to develop a predictive model for the growth curve of SCNs to aid in the clinical decision making of determining need for surgical resection., Methods: Utilizing a prospectively maintained pancreatic cyst database from a single institution, patients with SCNs were identified. Diagnosis confirmation included imaging, cyst aspiration, pathology, or expert opinion. Cyst size diameter was measured by radiology or surgery. Patients with interval imaging ≥3 months from diagnosis were included. Flexible restricted cubic splines were utilized for modeling of non-linearities in time and previous measurements. Model fitting and analysis were performed using R (V3.50, Vienna, Austria) with the rms package., Results: Among 203 eligible patients from 1998 to 2021, the mean initial cyst size was 31 mm (range 5-160 mm), with a mean follow-up of 72 months (range 3-266 months). The model effectively captured the non-linear relationship between cyst size and time, with both time and previous cyst size (not initial cyst size) significantly predicting current cyst growth (p < 0.01). The root mean square error for overall prediction was 10.74. Validation through bootstrapping demonstrated consistent performance, particularly for shorter follow-up intervals., Conclusion: SCNs typically have a similar growth rate regardless of initial size. An accurate predictive model can be used to identify rapidly growing outliers that may warrant surgical intervention, and this free model (https://riskcalc.org/SerousCystadenomaSize/) can be incorporated in the electronic medical record., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors have no disclosures to report., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Rationale and Objectives: According to current guidelines, pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) with worrisome or high-risk features may have overtreatment. The purpose of this study was to build a clinical and radiological based machine-learning (ML) model to identify malignant PCLs for surgery among preoperative PCLs with worrisome or high-risk features., Materials and Methods: Clinical and radiological details of 317 pathologically confirmed PCLs with worrisome or high-risk features were retrospectively analyzed and applied to ML models including Support Vector Machine, Logistic Regression (LR), Decision Tree, Bernoulli NB, Gaussian NB, K Nearest Neighbors and Linear Discriminant Analysis. The diagnostic ability for malignancy of the optimal model with the highest diagnostic AUC in the cross-validation procedure was further evaluated in internal (n = 77) and external (n = 50) testing cohorts, and was compared to two published guidelines in internal mucinous cyst cohort., Results: Ten clinical and radiological feature-based LR model was the optimal model with the highest AUC (0.951) in the cross-validation procedure. In the internal testing cohort, LR model reached an AUC, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 0.927, 0.909, 0.914, and 0.905; in the external testing cohort, LR model reached 0.948, 0.900, 0.963, and 0.826. When compared to the European guidelines and the ACG guidelines, LR model demonstrated significantly better accuracy and specificity in identifying malignancy, while maintaining the same high sensitivity., Conclusion: Clinical- and radiological-based LR model can accurately identify malignant PCLs in patients with worrisome or high-risk features, possessing diagnostic performance better than the European guidelines as well as ACG guidelines., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Association of University Radiologists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background/aims: : The optimal duration and interval of follow-up for cystic lesions of the pancreas (CLPs) is not well established. This study was performed to investigate the optimal duration and interval of follow-up for CLPs in clinical practice., Methods: : Patients with CLPs without worrisome features or high-risk stigmata underwent follow-up with computed tomography at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months and then every 12 months thereafter. A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data was performed., Results: : A total of 227 patients with CLPs detected from 2000 to 2008 (mean initial diameter, 1.3±0.6 cm) underwent follow-up for a median of 120 months. Twenty-two patients (9.7%) underwent surgery after a median of 47.5 months. Malignancies developed in four patients (1.8%), one within 5 years and three within 10 years. One hundred and fourteen patients (50.2%) were followed up for more than 10 years. No malignancy developed after 10 years of follow-up. During surveillance, 37 patients (16.3%) experienced progression to surgical indication. In patients with CLPs less than 2 cm in diameter, development of surgical indications did not occur within 24 months of follow-up., Conclusions: : CLPs should be continuously monitored after 5 years because of the persistent potential for malignant transformation of CLPs. An interval of 24 months for initial follow-up might be enough for CLPs with initial size of less than 2 cm in clinical practice.

Lymphoepithelial cyst(LEC)of the pancreas is a relatively rare benign cystic disease of the pancreas. In this report, we describe a case of LEC in which a malignant tumor could not be ruled out by preoperative diagnosis and surgery was performed. The patient was a 72-year-old man. A simple CT scan of the chest and abdomen performed as a follow-up for another disease incidentally revealed a mass in the pancreatic tail. Enhanced CT of the abdomen showed a tumor approximately 3 cm in size at the pancreatic tail with no contrast effect. MRCP showed moderate signal on T2WI, high signal on T1WI, and high signal on T2WI on some cysts inside the pancreas. PET-CT showed slight uptake of FDG. Both tumor markers CEA and CA19-9 were normal. Therefore, malignant disease such as pancreatic IPMC could not be ruled out, and laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy plus splenectomy was performed. The pathology results showed a diagnosis of pancreatic lymphoepithelial cyst with slight differentiation into sebaceous gland.

Objective: To identify risk factors associated with the progression of pancreatic cysts in patients undergoing surveillance., Background: Previous studies of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) rely on surgical series to determine malignancy risk and have inconsistently identified characteristics associated with IPMN progression., Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 2197 patients presenting with imaging concerning for IPMN from 2010 to 2019 at a single institution. Cyst progression was defined as resection or pancreatic cancer development., Results: The median follow-up time was 84 months from the presentation. The median age was 66 years, and 62% were female. Ten percent had a first-degree relative with pancreatic cancer, and 3.2% had a germline mutation or genetic syndrome associated with an increased risk of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Cumulative incidence of progression was 17.8% and 20.0% at 12 and 60 months postpresentation, respectively. Surgical pathology for 417 resected cases showed noninvasive IPMN in 39% of cases and PDAC with or without associated IPMN in 20%. Only 18 patients developed PDAC after 6 months of surveillance (0.8%). On multivariable analysis, symptomatic disease [hazard ratio (HR)=1.58; 95% CI: 1.25-2.01], current smoker status (HR=1.58; 95% CI: 1.16-2.15), cyst size (HR=1.26; 95% CI: 1.20-1.33), main duct dilation (HR=3.17; 95% CI: 2.44-4.11), and solid components (HR=1.89; 95% CI: 1.34-2.66) were associated with progression., Conclusions: Worrisome features on imaging at presentation, current smoker status, and symptomatic presentation are associated with IPMN progression. Most patients progressed within the first year of presentation to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC). Further investigation is necessary to develop personalized cyst surveillance strategies., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Disclosure All authors disclosed no financial relationships. Commentary The diagnostic accuracy of differentiating benign from malignant pancreatic cystic lesions is suboptimal, dependent on imaging in combination with cyst fluid markers and cytologic analysis, and more recently molecular markers. All modalities are often considered in combination to make the best assessment. In this case, a patient underwent EUS-FNA of a 2-cm pancreatic cyst because of the alarm feature of a mural nodule. Fluid analysis markers suggested the lesion to be benign, with high glucose and amylase levels and a low carcinoembryonic antigen. However, cytologic analysis revealed the presence of tumor cells from the mural nodule sampling consistent with neuroendocrine tumor. This case nicely illustrates the necessity of using multiple modalities for the diagnosis of pancreatic cysts, inasmuch as fluid analysis alone is not adequate for accurate diagnosis. Amy Tyberg, MD, FASGE, FACG, Associate Editor for Focal Points

Background: Cystic pancreatic lesions are detected incidentally at an increasing rate. Often, the patients present asymptomatically. Hence, the resulting clinical consequences remain challenging and unsettling for both physicians and patients., Objectives: Status of current recommendations in handling cystic pancreatic lesions., Materials and Methods: Selective literature search of PubMed while taking current guidelines into account., Results: Correct diagnostic classification of the cystic lesion is crucial since further action depends on the type of cystic lesion. Resection is generally recommended for mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN), solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPN), and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) with relevant risk criteria such as prominent main-duct dilation. Surveillance is recommended for IPMN without risk criteria, as long as comorbidities and life expectancy of the patient will allow preventive resection over the years. SCNs are benign and only symptomatic SCNs require resection. Inflammatory pancreatic cysts should only be treated under certain circumstances., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Background: Pancreatic benign, cystic, and neuroendocrine neoplasms are increasingly detected and recommended for surgical treatment. In multiorgan resection pancreatoduodenectomy or parenchyma-sparing, local extirpation is a challenge for decision-making regarding surgery-related early and late postoperative morbidity., Methods: PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Libraries were searched for studies reporting early surgery-related complications following pancreatoduodenectomy (PD) and duodenum-preserving total (DPPHRt) or partial (DPPHRp) pancreatic head resection for benign tumors. Thirty-four cohort studies comprising data from 1099 patients were analyzed. In total, 654 patients underwent DPPHR and 445 patients PD for benign tumors. This review and meta-analysis does not need ethical approval., Results: Comparing DPPHRt and PD, the need for blood transfusion (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.10-0.41, p<0.01), re-intervention for serious surgery-related complications (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.31-0.73, p<0.001), and re-operation for severe complications (OR 0.50, 95% CI 0.26-0.95, p=0.04) were significantly less frequent following DPPHRt. Pancreatic fistula B+C (19.0 to 15.3%, p=0.99) and biliary fistula (6.3 to 4.3%; p=0.33) were in the same range following PD and DPPHRt. In-hospital mortality after DPPHRt was one of 350 patients (0.28%) and after PD eight of 445 patients (1.79%) (OR 0.32, 95% CI 0.10-1.09, p=0.07). Following DPPHRp, there was no mortality among the 192 patients., Conclusion: DPPHR for benign pancreatic tumors is associated with significantly fewer surgery-related, serious, and severe postoperative complications and lower in-hospital mortality compared to PD. Tailored use of DPPHRt or DPPHRp contributes to a reduction of surgery-related complications. DPPHR has the potential to replace PD for benign tumors and premalignant cystic and neuroendocrine neoplasms of the pancreatic head., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background and Aims: EUS-guided ethanol ablation is a recently introduced treatment approach for pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs), including branch-duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (BD-IPMNs). However, the utility of this procedure is limited because of its relatively low efficacy in treating PCLs., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with PCLs, including those with enlarging suspected BD-IPMNs or those with PCLs measuring >3 cm, who were suboptimal candidates for surgery and had been managed using EUS-guided rapid ethanol lavage (EUS-REL; immediate ethanol lavage performed 4 times, 2015-2022) or surveillance only (SO; 2007- 2022). Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to minimize bias. The primary outcome was the cumulative incidence rate of BD-IPMN progression. Secondary outcomes were the efficacy and safety of EUS-REL, surgical resection rate (SR), overall survival (OS), and disease-specific survival (DSS) in both groups., Results: Overall, 169 and 610 patients were included in the EUS-REL and SO groups, respectively. PSM created 159 matched pairs. The radiologic complete resolution rate after EUS-REL was 74%. Procedure-related pancreatitis in the EUS-REL group was 13.0% (n = 22; 19 mild and 3 moderate grade); no severe adverse events were reported. The 10-year cumulative incidence rate of BD-IPMN progression was significantly lower in the EUS-REL group than in the SO group (1.6% vs 21.2%; hazard ratio, 12.35; P = .003). EUS-REL showed a lower tendency of SR compared with that associated with SO. The rates of 10-year OS and 10-year DSS were comparable in both groups., Conclusions: EUS-REL was associated with a significantly lower 10-year cumulative incidence rate of BD-IPMN progression and a lower tendency of SR, whereas its 10-year OS and DSS rates were similar to those of SO for PCLs. EUS-REL may be a viable alternative to SO for managing patients with enlarging suspected BD-IPMNs or those with PCLs >3 cm who are suboptimal candidates for surgery., (Copyright © 2023 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Surveillance of pancreatic cysts focuses on the detection of (mostly morphologic) features warranting surgery. European guidelines consider elevated CA19.9 as a relative indication for surgery. We aimed to evaluate the role of CA19.9 monitoring for early detection and management in a cyst surveillance population., Methods: The PACYFIC-registry is a prospective collaboration that investigates the yield of pancreatic cyst surveillance performed at the discretion of the treating physician. We included participants for whom at least one serum CA19.9 value was determined by a minimum follow-up of 12 months., Results: Of 1865 PACYFIC participants, 685 met the inclusion criteria for this study (mean age 67 years, SD 10; 61% female). During a median follow-up of 25 months (IQR 24, 1966 visits), 29 participants developed high-grade dysplasia (HGD) or pancreatic cancer. At baseline, CA19.9 ranged from 1 to 591 kU/L (median 10 kU/L [IQR 14]), and was elevated (≥37 kU/L) in 64 participants (9%). During 191 of 1966 visits (10%), an elevated CA19.9 was detected, and these visits more often led to an intensified follow-up (42%) than those without an elevated CA19.9 (27%; p < 0.001). An elevated CA19.9 was the sole reason for surgery in five participants with benign disease (10%). The baseline CA19.9 value was (as continuous or dichotomous variable at the 37 kU/L threshold) not independently associated with HGD or pancreatic cancer development, whilst a CA19.9 of ≥ 133 kU/L was (HR 3.8, 95% CI 1.1-13, p = 0.03)., Conclusions: In this pancreatic cyst surveillance cohort, CA19.9 monitoring caused substantial harm by shortening surveillance intervals (and performance of unnecessary surgery). The current CA19.9 cutoff was not predictive of HGD and pancreatic cancer, whereas a higher cutoff may decrease false-positive values. The role of CA19.9 monitoring should be critically appraised prior to implementation in surveillance programs and guidelines., (© 2023 The Authors. United European Gastroenterology Journal published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of United European Gastroenterology.)

Background: Pancreatic cysts are common. However, most studies are based on data collected from individual centers. The present study aimed to evaluate the changes of management patterns for pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) by analyzing large epidemiologic data., Methods: Between January 2007 and December 2018, information regarding pancreatic cystic lesions was acquired from the nationwide Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service database in Korea., Results: The final number of patients with pancreatic cysts was 165 277 among the total claims for reimbursement of 855 983 associated with PCLs over 12 years. The total number of claims were increased from 19 453 in 2007 to 155 842 in 2018 and the prevalence increased from 0.04% to 0.23%. For 12 years, 2874 (1.7%) had pancreatic cancer and 8212 (5.0%) underwent surgery, and 36 had surgery for twice (total 8248 pancreatectomy). After ruling out claims from the first 3 years of washout period, the incidence increased from 9891 to 24 651 and the crude incidence rate of PCLs expanded from 19.96 per 100 000 to 47.77 per 100 000. Compared to specific neoplasm codes (D136 or D377), the use of pancreatic cyst code (K862) has been remarkably increased and the most common since 2010. The annual number of pancreatectomies increased from 518 to 861 between 2007 and 2012, and decreased to 596 until 2018. The percentage of pancreatic cancer in patients who received pancreatectomy increased from 5.6% in 2007 to 11.7% in 2018., Conclusions: The incidence of PCLs is rapidly increasing. Among PCLs, indeterminate cyst is increasing outstandingly. A trend of decreasing in the number of resections and increasing cancer rates among resected cysts may be attributed to the updated international guidelines., Competing Interests: Competing interest No benefits in any form have been received or will be received from a commercial party related directly or indirectly to the subject of this article., (Copyright © 2022 First Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine in China. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Follow-up in patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) aims to detect advanced neoplasia (high-grade dysplasia/cancer) in an early stage. The 2015 American Gastroenterological Association (AGA), 2017 International Association of Pancreatology (IAP), and the 2018 European Study Group on Cystic tumours of the Pancreas (European) guidelines differ in their recommendations on indications for surgery. However, it remains unclear which guideline is most accurate in predicting advanced neoplasia in IPMN., Methods: Patients who underwent surgery were extracted from a prospective database (January 2006-January 2021). In patients with IPMN, final pathology was compared with the indication for surgery according to the guidelines. ROC-curves were calculated to determine the diagnostic accuracy for each guideline., Results: Overall, 247 patients underwent surgery for cystic lesions. In 145 patients with IPMN, 52 had advanced neoplasia, of which the AGA guideline would have advised surgery in 14 (27%), the IAP and European guideline in 49 (94%) and 50 (96%). In 93 patients without advanced neoplasia, the AGA, IAP, and European guidelines would incorrectly have advised surgery in 8 (8.6%), 77 (83%) and 71 (76%)., Conclusion: The European and IAP guidelines are clearly superior in detecting advanced neoplasia in IPMN as compared to the AGA, albeit at the cost of a higher rate of unnecessary surgery. To harmonize care and to avoid confusion caused by conflicting statements, a global evidence-based guideline for PCN in collaboration with the various guidelines groups is required once the current guidelines require an update., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objectives: To retrospectively analyze the characteristics of pancreatic cysts with respect to histopathological diagnosis and various diagnostic imaging tools., Methods: The clinical features of 136 patients and characteristics of histopathologically diagnosed cysts were retrospectively assessed. The diagnostic accuracy of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for pancreatic cysts was compared. Risk factors for high-grade dysplasia/invasive cancer in patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) were also determined., Results: The final analysis included 30 serous cystic neoplasms (SCNs) (21.6%), 13 mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs) (9.4%), 65 IPMNs (46.8%), and 13 solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPNs) (9.4%). The percentage of women with MCNs, SPNs, SCNs, and IPMNs was 100.0, 76.9, 73.3, and 47.7%, respectively (P < .001). The percentages of patients over 60 years of age with IPMNs, SCNs, MCNs, and SPNs were 73.9, 23.3, 0, and 0%, respectively (P < .001). The percentage of cysts located in the body and tail of the pancreas in MCNs, SCNs, SPNs, and IPMNs was 100, 70, 53.9, and 46.2%, respectively (P < .001). A unique honeycomb appearance was observed in 26.7% of SCNs. The overall diagnostic accuracy of EUS, CT, and MRI for pancreatic cysts was 82.6, 72.5, and 73.9%, respectively. Lesion size and presence of solid components were independent predictors of high-risk IPMNs., Conclusions: Patient characteristics and cyst features can help to differentiate pancreatic cyst types and identify high-risk IPMNs. The diagnostic accuracy of EUS for pancreatic cysts is superior to that of CT and MRI., (© 2022 American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.)

Background: Differentiation of cystic pancreatic neoplasms remains a challenging task for radiologists regarding the main aim of identifying malignant and premalignant lesions., Purpose: The study aimed to compare the radiological features of lymphoepithelial cysts (LEC) with other cystic pancreatic lesions, which could help to differentiate them in order to avoid unnecessary resection., Material and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 10 cases of resected and histopathologically confirmed LECs during a 12-year period with available imaging studies; 20 patients with mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN), 20 patients with branch-duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (BD-IPMN), and 20 patients with serous cystic neoplasms (SCN) were selected to serve as control groups. Imaging findings as well as clinical data were analyzed., Results: The following imaging morphology of LEC was identified: simple cystic appearance (20%) and mixed cystic-solid appearance (80%) with either a diffuse subsolid component (30%) or mural nodule(s) (50%). All lesions revealed exophytic location with a strong male predominance (9:1). MCNs occurred exclusively in middle-aged women, IPMN in both sexes showed slight male predominance (13:7), and SCN showed female predominance (5:15). Median patient age in LEC (48.5, IQR 47-54.5) was significantly younger compared to IPMN (p < 0.001) and SCN (p = 0.02). Unenhanced CT attenuation of LEC was higher than MCNs (p = 0.025) and IPMNs (p = 0.021), showing no significant difference to SCN (p = 0.343)., Conclusion: The present study provides key radiological features of LEC for the differentiation from other cystic pancreatic lesions such as increased CT attenuation in the unenhanced phase, absence of a connection to the main pancreatic duct (MPD), and exophytic location. In addition to these imaging features, clinical data, such as male predominance in LEC, must be considered for the differentiation of cystic pancreatic lesions., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: In contrast to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the risks of pancreatectomy for mucinous pancreatic cysts (MCs) are balanced against the putative goal of removing potentially malignant tumors. Despite undergoing similar operations, different rates of perioperative complications and morbidity between MC and PDAC patient populations may affect recommendations for resection. We therefore sought to compare the rates of postoperative complications between patients undergoing pancreatectomies for MCs or PDAC., Methods: A prospectively maintained institutional database was used to identify patients who underwent surgical resection for MCs or PDAC from July 2011 to August 2019. Patient demographics, complications, and perioperative data were compared between groups., Results: A total of 103 patients underwent surgical resection for MCs and 428 patients underwent resection for PDAC. Combined major 90-day postoperative complications were similar between MC and PDAC patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD, 32.5% vs. 20.0%, p = 0.068) or distal pancreatectomy (DP, 30.2% vs. 20.5%, p = 0.172). The most frequent complications were postoperative pancreatic fistula (POPF), abscess, and postoperative bleeding. The incidence of 90-day ISGPS Grade B/C POPF was higher in cyst patients undergoing PD (17.5% vs. 4.1%, p = 0.003) but not DP (25.4% vs. 20.5%, p = 0.473). No significant differences in operative time or length of stay between MCs and PDAC cohorts were observed., Conclusions: POPFs occur more frequently and at higher grades in patients undergoing PD for MCs than for PDAC and should inform patient selection. Accordingly, the perioperative management of MC patients undergoing PD should emphasize POPF risk mitigation., (© 2022. The Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract.)

Purpose: The detection of pancreatic cystic lesions (PCL) causes uncertainty for physicians and patients, and international guidelines are based on low evidence. The extent and perioperative risk of resections of PCL in Germany needs comparison with these guidelines to highlight controversies and derive recommendations., Methods: Clinical data of 1137 patients who underwent surgery for PCL between 2014 and 2019 were retrieved from the German StuDoQ|Pancreas registry. Relevant features for preoperative evaluation and predictive factors for adverse outcomes were statistically identified., Results: Patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) represented the largest PCL subgroup (N = 689; 60.6%) while other entities (mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN), serous cystic neoplasms (SCN), neuroendocrine tumors, pseudocysts) were less frequently resected. Symptoms of pancreatitis were associated with IPMN (OR, 1.8; P = 0.012) and pseudocysts (OR, 4.78; P < 0.001), but likewise lowered the likelihood of MCN (OR, 0.49; P = 0.046) and SCN (OR, 0.15, P = 0.002). A total of 639 (57.2%) patients received endoscopic ultrasound before resection, as recommended by guidelines. Malignancy was histologically confirmed in 137 patients (12.0%), while jaundice (OR, 5.1; P < 0.001) and weight loss (OR, 2.0; P = 0.002) were independent predictors. Most resections were performed by open surgery (N = 847, 74.5%), while distal lesions were in majority treated using minimally invasive approaches (P < 0.001). Severe morbidity was 28.4% (N = 323) and 30d mortality was 2.6% (N = 29). Increased age (P = 0.004), higher BMI (P = 0.002), liver cirrhosis (P < 0.001), and esophageal varices (P = 0.002) were independent risk factors for 30d mortality., Conclusion: With respect to unclear findings frequently present in PCL, diagnostic means recommended in guidelines should always be considered in the preoperative phase. The therapy of PCL should be decided upon in the light of patient-specific factors, and the surgical strategy needs to be adapted accordingly., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The role of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) in the last two decades has shifted from a diagnostic tool to an important therapeutic tool treating mainly pancreato-biliary disorders. In recent years, its applications for treating pancreatic diseases have broadened, including the implementation of radiofrequency ablation (RFA), which has been traditionally used for treating solid tumors. In this critical in-depth review, we summarized all the papers throughout the literature regarding EUS-RFA for pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms, adenocarcinoma, and pancreatic cystic lesions. Overall, for pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms we identified 16 papers that reported 96 patients who underwent EUS-RFA, with acceptable adverse events that were rated mild to moderate and a high complete radiological resolution rate of 90%. For pancreatic adenocarcinoma, we identified 8 papers with 121 patients. Adverse events occurred in 13% of patients, mostly rated mild. However, no clear survival benefit was demonstrated. For pancreatic cystic lesions, we identified 4 papers with 38 patients. The adverse events were mostly mild and occurred in 9.1% of patients, and complete or partial radiological resolution of the cysts was reported in 36.8%. Notably, the procedure was technically feasible for most of the patients. Nevertheless, a long road remains before this technique finds its definite place in guidelines due to several controversies. EUS-RFA for pancreatic tumors seems to be safe and effective, especially for pancreatic neuroendocrine neoplasms, but multicenter prospective trials are needed to consider this treatment as a gold standard., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report having no relevant conflicts of interest for this article., (©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Computed tomography (CT) imaging is routinely obtained for diagnostics, especially in trauma and emergency rooms, often identifying incidental findings. We utilized a natural language processing (NLP) algorithm to quantify the incidence of clinically relevant pancreatic lesions in CT imaging., Patients and Methods: We utilized the electronic medical record to perform a retrospective chart review of adult patients admitted for trauma to a level 1 tertiary care center between 2010 and 2020 who underwent abdominal CT imaging. An open-source NLP software was used to identify patients with intrapapillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN), pancreatic cysts, pancreatic ductal dilation, or pancreatic masses after optimizing the algorithm using a test group of patients who underwent pancreatic surgery., Results: The algorithm identified pancreatic lesions in 27 of 28 patients who underwent pancreatic surgery and excluded 1 patient who had a pure ampullary mass. The study cohort consisted of 18,769 patients who met our inclusion criteria admitted to the hospital. Of this population, 232 were found to have pancreatic lesions of interest. There were 48 (20.7%) patients with concern for IPMN, pancreatic cysts in 36 (15.5%), concerning masses in 30 (12.9%), traumatic findings in 44 (19.0%), pancreatitis in 41 (17.7%), and ductal abnormalities in 19 (18.2%) patients. Prior pancreatic surgery and other findings were identified in 14 (6.0%) patients., Conclusions: In this study, we propose a novel use of NLP software to identify potentially malignant pancreatic lesions annotated in CT imaging performed for other purposes. This methodology can significantly increase the screening and automated referral for the management of precancerous lesions., (© 2022. Society of Surgical Oncology.)

Background: Endoscopic ultrasound-guided radiofrequency ablation (EUS-RFA) is a developing therapeutic approach for premalignant pancreatic-cystic neoplasms (PCNs) and small pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (PNETs). The safety and efficacy of pancreatic EUS-RFA were previously reported in small series. Herein we report our initial experience with RFA of PCNs and small PNETs., Methods: This is a prospective single-center study including 12 patients with a median follow-up of 7 months, with either PCN or PNET &lt;2 cm. Eligible PCNs were either intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) with worrisome features or mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN) that were not eligible or refused surgery. Ablation was performed using a 19-gauge dedicated needle., Results: Twelve patients were treated, five had PCNs (four IPMNs, one MCN; median size of 36 mm, range 12-60) and seven had PNETs (median size 8.9 mm, range 6-18). Among patients with PCNs, the complete radiologic response was achieved in 3/5 (60%), partial response in 1/5 (20%) and failure in 1/5 (20%). Among six patients with nonfunctioning PNETs, the complete radiologic response was achieved in 4/6 (66.7%), partial radiologic response in 0/6 (0%) and failure in 2/6 (33.3%). Following a median follow-up of 7 months. One patient with insulinoma showed complete resolution of hypoglycemia-related symptoms. Three postprocedural adverse events occurred, including one case (1/12, 8.3%) of mild acute pancreatitis and two cases (2/12, 16.7%) of abdominal pain., Conclusion: EUS-guided RFA for premalignant PCNs and PNETs is feasible and well-tolerated. Efficacy would be further evaluated with continued follow-up of patients., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background and Aims: Pancreatic cystic neoplasms (PCNs) represent a difficult preoperative diagnosis despite improvements in imaging. In this study, we compared preoperative and final pathologic diagnosis in a large cohort of resected PCNs, evaluating diagnostic accuracy with a specific focus on the value of EUS., Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients undergoing resection between 2009 and 2019 for presumed PCNs was performed. Preoperative workup was reviewed by analyzing the role of imaging and EUS. Patients with a benign histology who did not show absolute indication were categorized as "delayable surgery.", Results: Of 585 patients who were retrospectively analyzed, in 108 (18.5%) final histology did not confirm preoperative diagnosis. EUS was associated with a lower rate of incorrect diagnosis (16%; P = .03), but the risk of overtreatment was similar regardless of instrumental diagnostic path (33/131 vs 68/328, P = .298). Dilatation of the main pancreatic duct and cytologic sampling were the only variables independently associated with a correct diagnosis (P < .001 and P = .041, respectively). Based on clinical presentation and final histology, pancreatic resection could have been spared or delayed in 101 of 459 patients (22%), and this was influenced by age (odds ratio [OR], .97; P = .002), cyst larger than 30 mm (OR, 1.89; P = .005), and type of operation (OR, 3.46 [P < .001] and 3.18 [P = .023] for distal pancreatectomies and other resections, respectively)., Conclusions: The overall risk of unnecessary immediate surgery for PCNs is about 22% in a high-volume referral center. EUS with cytologic sampling is a useful procedure in the diagnostic management of PCNs, improving their diagnostic accuracy., (Copyright © 2022 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: The aims of this study are to compare the performance of various preoperative imaging modalities for assessing the malignant potential of pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) through a network meta-analysis (NMA) and to clarify the role of 18 F-FDG PET in the management of patients with PCL., Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were searched for the studies evaluating the performance of preoperative imaging modalities for identifying malignant PCLs. The NMA was performed for 4 representative categories of various imaging modalities in terms of diagnostic performance for differentiating malignant from benign PCL and intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms only as a subgroup analysis. To calculate the probability of each imaging modality being the most effective diagnostic method, the surface under the cumulative ranking curve values were obtained., Results: A total of 1018 patients from 17 direct comparison studies using 2 or more preoperative imaging modalities were included for differentiating malignant from benign PCL. The positive predictive value (PPV) and accuracy of 18 F-FDG PET were significantly higher than that of CT (PPV: odds ratio [OR], 2.66; 95% credible interval [CrI], 1.21-6.17; accuracy: OR, 2.63; 95% CrI, 1.41-5.38) or MRI (PPV: OR, 2.50; 95% CrI, 1.09-6.26; accuracy: OR, 2.50; 95% CrI, 1.28-5.47) in all PCLs, as well as in the subgroup analysis for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm only. 18 F-FDG PET showed the highest surface under the cumulative ranking curve values in all diagnostic performance areas of sensitivity, specificity, PPV, negative predictive value, and accuracy, followed by MRI or CT., Conclusions: The results from this NMA suggest that 18 F-FDG PET is the best preoperative imaging modality for differentiating malignant from benign PCLs and that it can be used for the preoperative evaluation of PCLs., Competing Interests: Conflicts of interest and sources of funding: none declared., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Acinar cystic transformation (ACT) of the pancreas is a rare non-neoplastic cystic lesion. It is most frequently observed in the head of the pancreas. Despite advances in radiologic imaging methods, preoperative diagnosis of acinar cystic transformation is difficult, it is often confused with other cystic lesions. Here, we report three cases of acinar cystic transformation, one of which showed diffuse involvement of the pancreas, and the remaining two were multilocular localized cystic lesions. We analyzed their histomorphologic and immunohistochemical features. The patients' ages ranged between 15 and 43 years and the ratio of females to males was 2:1. On microscopic examination, the cysts were lined by a single layer of flattened-cuboidal or columnar epithelial cells. The epithelial cells were diffusely positive with trypsin and keratin 7, but patchy with keratin 19. Due to its rarity and lack of radiologic and clinical awareness compared with other pancreatic cystic lesions, preoperative diagnosis of acinar cystic transformation is difficult and not definitive. All cases reported to date have been clinically benign and there is no evidence of recurrence or malignant transformation. The optimal treatment and whether to perform surgery remain controversial.

Background: True congenital pancreatic cysts are a rare pathological process reported within feline and human literature. To date there has been no documented case of a true congenital cyst affecting a canine patient. The objective of this case report is to document the clinical findings, diagnostic investigations, surgical treatment, histopathological diagnosis and long-term outcome of a dog with a true pancreatic cyst., Case Presentation: A 5-month-old crossbreed dog was presented with a six-week history of abdominal pain, apparent bilateral pelvic limb weakness, reluctance to walk and intermittent vomiting and diarrhoea. An abdominal ultrasound examination performed by the dog's primary care veterinarian identified a large intra-abdominal structure of unclear origin. A computed tomographic examination identified a large ovoid structure measuring 156 mm in length, 95 mm in height and 89 mm in width and apparently originating from the left limb of the pancreas. An exploratory coeliotomy was performed and a partial pancreatectomy was performed to allow complete removal of the cystic structure. Histopathological analysis of sections of the wall of the large fluid-filled cyst identified a thick fibromuscular wall lined by a well regimented hyperplastic tall columnar epithelium with basally located round to ovoid nuclei featuring fine chromatin stippling and abundant apically located and surface mucin, concurrent with a true congenital pancreatic cyst. A long-term follow-up of twenty-nine months identified no clinical signs of recurrence., Conclusion: A partial pancreatectomy and en bloc excision of a true pancreatic cyst provided an excellent long-term outcome in a dog., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Objective: Prospective evaluation of 2 clinical-molecular models in patients with unknown pathology who underwent endoscopic ultrasound with fine-needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) for a cystic lesion of the pancreas., Summary of Background Data: Preoperative prediction of histologic subtype (mucinous vs nonmucinous) and grade of dysplasia in patients with pancreatic cystic neoplasms is challenging. Our group has previously published 2 clinical-molecular nomograms for intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN) that incorporated both clinical/radiographic features and cyst fluid protein markers (sFASL, CA72-4, MMP9, IL-4)., Methods: This multiinstitutional study enrolled patients who underwent EUS-FNA for a cystic lesion of the pancreas. Treatment recommendations regarding resection were based on standard clinical, radiographic, and endoscopic features. Predicted probabilities of high-risk IPMN (high-grade dysplasia/invasive cancer) were calculated using the previously developed clinical-molecular nomograms., Results: Cyst fluid was obtained from 100 patients who underwent diagnostic EUS-FNA. Within this group there were 35 patients who underwent resection, and 65 were monitored radiographically. Within the group that underwent resection, 26 had low-risk IPMN or benign non-IPMN lesions, and 9 had high-risk IPMN. Within the surveillance group, no patient progressed to resection or developed cancer after a median follow-up of 12months (range: 0.5-38). Using the clinical/radiographic nomogram alone, 2 out of 9 patients with high-risk IPMN had a predicted probability >0.5. In the clinical-molecular models, 6 of 9 patients in model 1, and 6 of 9 in model 2, had scores >0.5., Conclusions: This prospective study of patients with unknown cyst pathology further demonstrates the importance of cyst fluid protein analysis in the preoperative identification of patients with high-risk IPMN. Longer follow-up is necessary to determine if this model will be useful in clinical practice., Competing Interests: The authors report no conflicts of interest, (Copyright © 2021 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background/aims: As pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs) are considered premalignant lesions, the current guidelines recommend their surgical resection. We aimed to investigate the concordance between preoperative and postoperative diagnoses and evaluate preoperative clinical parameters that could predict the malignant potential of MCNs., Methods: Patients who underwent surgical resection at Samsung Medical Center for pancreatic cystic lesions and whose pathology was confirmed to be MCN, between July 2000 and December 2017, were retrospectively analyzed., Results: Among a total of 132 patients 99 (75%) were diagnosed with MCN preoperatively. The most discordant preoperative diagnosis was an indeterminate pancreatic cyst. The proportion of male patients was higher (24.2% vs 7.1%, p=0.05) in the diagnosis-discordance group and the presence of worrisome features in radiologic imaging studies, such as wall thickening/enhancement (12.1% vs 37.4%, p=0.02) or solid component/mural nodule (3.0% vs 27.3%, p=0.02), was lower in the diagnosis-discordance group. The presence of symptoms (57.7% vs 34.9%, p=0.02), tumor size greater than 4 cm (80.8% vs 55.7%, p=0.04), and radiologic presence of a solid component/mural nodule (42.3% vs 16.0%, p=0.01) or duct dilatation (19.2% vs 6.6%, p=0.01) were significantly associated with malignant MCNs., Conclusions: In our study, the overall diagnostic concordance rate was confirmed to be 75%, and our findings suggest that MCNs have a low malignancy potential when they are less than 4 cm in size, are asymptomatic and lack worrisome features on preoperative images.

With the progress of imaging technology and the popularization of healthy examination, the detection rate of pancreatic cystic neoplasm(PCN) has increased significantly. PCN has complex disease spectrum, strong heterogeneity, and diverse surgical treatment strategies. Surgical timing and methods directly affect patients' prognosis. Therefore, how to identify malignant tumors and formulate reasonable treatment strategies are the keys to treat PCN. Many guidelines for clinical diagnosis and treatment of PCN have been released, but there are still many disputes about its surgical indications. Hence, fully assessing the surgical indications is of great significance to improve the PCN patients' prognosis. This paper deeply discusses on the surgical indications of PCN by reviewing the current clinical diagnosis, treatment and research progress of PCN, in order to standardize the diagnosis and treatment of PCN.

Purpose: Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) include various types of cysts. Accurate preoperative diagnosis is essential to avoid unnecessary surgery on benign cysts. In this study, we aimed to identify the factors associated with misdiagnosis in preoperative endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) imaging and clinicopathological findings for PCLs., Methods: This study included 302 surgically resected patients with PCLs who underwent preoperative EUS. The preoperative EUS findings were re-evaluated and compared with the pathological diagnosis. Additionally, the factors associated with misdiagnosis of PCLs were investigated by multivariate analysis., Results: The preoperative diagnoses of PCLs were intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) in 213 patients (70.5%), mucinous cystic neoplasm (MCN) in 33 patients (10.9%), serous neoplasm (SN) in 7 patients (2.3%), cystic degeneration cyst of solid tumor in 46 patients (15.2%), and pancreatic cancer with cystic degeneration in three patients (1.0%). A discrepancy between preoperative and postoperative diagnosis was found in 47 patients (15.6%). Based on the pathological diagnosis, the sensitivity of preoperative EUS imaging was IPMN 97.6% (206/211), MCN 90.0% (18/19), cystic degeneration 87.1% (27/31), and SN 15.4% (2/13). Multivariate analysis revealed that main pancreatic duct (MPD) communication ( - ) (odds ratio (OR), 4.54; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.29-15.9), honeycomb-like structure ( +) (OR, 14.7; 95% CI 2.61-83.3), and MPD size ≦ 2 mm (OR, 16.3; 95% CI 3.93-67.6) were independently associated with misdiagnosis., Conclusion: For cases in which MCN and cystic degeneration of solid tumor are presumed based on preoperative EUS imaging and cases with PCLs with a honeycomb-like structure, diagnosis with multimodalities or fluid analysis with EUS-guided fine-needle aspiration should be considered., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to The Japan Society of Ultrasonics in Medicine.)

Ablative therapies for locoregional treatment of pancreatic neoplastic lesions developed over the last decade to be applied during surgery are now becoming also available to be utilized under endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) guidance. The advantage of this approach is clear because of the close proximity of the EUS transducer to the target lesion, coupled with developments of specifically designed ablation devices, making the procedure minimally invasive, and potentially sparing patients from the morbidity of this method when performed surgically. EUS-guided ablative techniques that have been applied to pancreatic neoplastic cysts, pancreatic functional and non-functional neuroendocrine neoplasms and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma include ethanol injection, radiofrequency ablation (RFA), a combination of bipolar RFA and cryoablation, laser therapy and photodynamic therapy. Up to now, most of these procedures have been applied to patients at high surgical risk or who refused surgery. However, more studies evaluating some of these treatments also in selected patients not at surgical risk are becoming available. These studies will pave the road to apply this therapeutic approach to a more extensive number of patients, alone or in association with other therapies, such as immunomodulating drugs. The present manuscript will critically review the available evidence in the field of EUS-guided local ablative treatment of solid and cystic pancreatic neoplasms.

Due to their increased detection pancreatic cystic space-occupying lesions are becoming increasingly relevant in the clinical routine and represent a morphologically and biologically heterogeneous and thus clinically demanding as well as potentially (pre)malignant entity. As a result, recommendations for the diagnostics and treatment of pancreatic cystic tumors have now been incorporated into the current German S3 guidelines on pancreatic cancer. The diagnostics of pancreatic cystic space-occupying lesions are based on the following three elements: collection of relevant clinical information, performance of high-resolution imaging procedures and if diagnostic uncertainty persists, puncture diagnostics. Differentiated diagnostics are of essential importance as these represent the basis for an adequate treatment decision. Pancreatic cystic lesions with a relevant risk of malignant transformation, e.g., main duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMN), followed by mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCN), solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPN) and generally pancreatic cystic lesions with risk factors independent of the entity, should be resected, whereas a differentiated and individualized approach is necessary, especially for branch-duct IPMNs. The serous cystic neoplasms (SCN) have no malignant potential and do not require any treatment if they are asymptomatic. Important principles in surgery of pancreatic cancer, such as adequate surgical resection taking oncological standards into account and standardized appropriate histopathological processing of the specimens as well as intraoperative frozen section analysis also play an important role in pancreatic cystic space-occupying lesions. An annual follow-up seems to be meaningful, especially for IPMNs., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Medizin Verlag GmbH, ein Teil von Springer Nature.)

Objectives: There is a paucity of literature evaluating new-onset diabetes mellitus (NODM) after resection of pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs). We sought to characterize the incidence and risk factors associated with NODM after partial pancreatectomy for PCLs., Methods: We utilized the IBM MarketScan Database (2012-2018) to identify all nondiabetic adults who underwent partial pancreatectomy for PCLs. Patients with any other pancreatic disease were excluded. We performed Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression to define the incidence and risk factors of postoperative NODM., Results: Among 311 patients, the overall risk (95% confidence interval) of NODM was 9.1% (6.3-12.9%), 15.1% (11.3-20.2%), and 20.2% (15.3-26.4%) at 6, 12 and 24 months, respectively. Multivariable analysis (adjusted hazard ratio; 95% confidence interval) revealed that older age (1.97; 1.04-3.72; 55-64 vs 18-54 years), obesity (2.63; 1.35-5.12), hypertension (1.79; 1.01-3.17), and cardiovascular disease (2.54; 1.02-6.28) were independent predictors of NODM. Rates of NODM were similar after distal pancreatectomy versus pancreaticoduodenectomy., Conclusions: Within 2 years, 1 in 5 patients without any other pancreatic disease will develop NODM after partial pancreatectomy for PCLs. Those with advanced age, metabolic syndrome features, and/or cardiovascular disease may benefit from preoperative counseling and intensive postoperative monitoring, education, and treatment for diabetes mellitus., Competing Interests: The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences or the National Institutes of Health. No other potential conflicts of interest exist for any author in relationship to this publication., (Copyright © 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)