title: Lymphoepithelial cyst of the pancreas: report of a case.
abstract: A lymphoepithelial cyst (LEC) is an extremely rare benign lesion of the pancreas. During a medical check-up, a 77-year-old man without any symptoms was found to have a cyst in the body of the pancreas. His serum carbohydrate antigen 19-9 level was slightly elevated. Computed tomography showed a multilocular, low-attenuating cyst on the superior surface of the pancreatic body. Thus, we performed distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy. Histological examination revealed that the cyst wall was lined with squamous epithelium and surrounded by abundant mature lymphoid tissue. Keratinous substances were present in the cyst. An LEC of the pancreas is associated with a good prognosis and, although unusual, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic cystic lesions. Minimal resection of the cyst should be performed whenever possible, and extensive surgery avoided. For patients with a high surgical risk, fine-needle aspiration biopsy may be considered.
authors: Department of General Surgical Science (Surgery 1), Gunma University, Graduate School of Medicine, 3-39-22 Showa-machi, Maebashi, Gunma 371-8511, Japan.
authors: Akihito
authors: A
authors: Idetsu
authors: Hitoshi
authors: H
authors: Ojima
authors: Kana
authors: K
authors: Saito
authors: Isao
authors: I
authors: Hirayama
authors: Yasuo
authors: Y
authors: Hosouchi
authors: Yasuji
authors: Y
authors: Nishida
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Nakajima
authors: Hiroyuki
authors: H
authors: Kuwano
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002760:Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D008210:Lymphocele / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010180:Pancreatectomy; D010181:Pancreatic Cyst / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D013156:Splenectomy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed