Cystic teratoma of the pancreas

Benign cystic teratoma of the pancreas often appears to be potentially malignant in preoperative staging. The final diagnosis is generally obtained after surgical removal. Reliable prediction is mandatory for differential treatment.

A Medline query was performed for the terms cystic teratoma, dermoid cyst and pancreas. Data were analyzed for patient characteristics, clinical appearance, diagnostic findings, therapy and follow-up.

Including our own, 26 cases of pancreatic cystic teratoma were identified. The majority of patients were symptomatic by unspecific gastrointestinal complaints. Up to date, imaging techniques fail at a distinct preoperative diagnosis. Surgical treatment evolved from various drainage and excision procedures into radical resection.

Despite the strictly benign nature of cystic teratoma, oncologic resection is mostly inevitable due to difficult preoperative diagnosis. No reliable predictive marker was found to allow for organ- or parenchyma-preserving procedures. Therefore, surgery remains the treatment of choice to exclude malignancy.