Unusual cystic neoplasms in the pancreas: radiologic-pathologic correlation

Cystic neoplasms in the pancreas encompass a broad spectrum of benign, borderline, and malignant lesions that either are primarily cystic or result from the cystic degeneration of solid tumors. Although these lesions show different histologic findings, the overlap of the radiologic findings for many pancreatic cystic lesions makes differentiation difficult, and the clinical manifestations can also overlap. Therefore, some of the pancreatic cystic lesions, especially uncommon lesions, can cause diagnostic confusion, and this may result in unnecessary surgery or inappropriate follow-up. In this article, we discuss and illustrate the radiologic features of unusual cystic neoplasms and the unusual findings of the relatively common cystic neoplasms in the pancreas. We also correlate the radiologic findings with the findings on pathologic analysis.