J Korean Soc Med Ultrasound.  2001 Mar;20(1):23-28.

Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Tumor of the Pancreas: Usefulness of Endoscopic Ultrasonography in Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Neoplasm

• Park MS
• Kim KW
• Lee SJ
• Yu JS
• Chung JP
• Yoon SW
• Chung JB
• Kang JK

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant intraductal papillary mucinous tumor of the pancreas.
MATERIALS and METHODS
Seven patients with intraductal papillary mucinous tumor of the pancreas confirmed by operation underwent EUS. After evaluation of findings of EUS, these observations were compared with pathologic findings, and then reevaluated them according to the histologic grade of malignancy.
RESULTS
According to the pathologic specimens, three cases of them were malignant and the remaining 4 cases were benign. The subtypes of them were as follows: 2 main duct type, 2 branch duct type, and 3 combined type. All malignant tumors showed the main pancreatic duct dilatation (5-15 mm, mean 9.7mm), whereas all benign tumors showed no dilatation of the main pancreatic duct on EUS. The mural nodules of the malignant tumors (12-14mm) were significantly larger than those of benign lesions (3-4mm), significantly.
CONCLUSION
EUS is useful for diagnosing intraductal papillary mucinous tumor of the pancreas, particularly for predicting malignancy.

MeSH Terms

Diagnosis, Differential
Dilatation
Endosonography*
Humans
Mucins*
Pancreas*
Pancreatic Ducts
Mucins