Cystadenomas of the pancreas

Five patients with cystadenoma of the pancreas were treated at two Connecticut hospitals between 1981 and 1987. All patients were women, with an average age of 42 (range 29 to 64). Abdominal pain was the most common presenting complaint and was present in four of five patients; two patients had palpable abdominal masses. Four patients had serious cystadenomas; one patient had a mucinous cystadenoma. All patients were treated by resection (four distal pancreatectomies; one pancreaticoduodenectomy). All patients are alive and well 3 to 9 years following surgery. Nonoperative differentiation of benign from premalignant or malignant cystic pancreatic neoplasms can be extremely difficult. Unresected benign cystadenomas may undergo malignant degeneration or cause significant morbidity and mortality as a result of local complications. Complete resection, if possible, is the treatment of choice for these unusual lesions.