The macrocystic variant of serous cystadenomas of the pancreas has only recently been described. We present a case of a 40 year-old female, who presented with vague indigestion. The cyst was unilocular, and was lined by simple cuboidal, ciliated serous type epithelium. Fine needle aspiration, immunohistochemical, light microscopic, and electron microscopic studies are discussed.
Biopsy, Needle ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous/*pathology/radiography ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/*pathology/radiography ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether or not detailed cystic feature analysis on CT scans can assist in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) from serous cystadenoma (SCN), mucinous cystadenoma (MCN), and a pseudocyst. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study received Institutional Review Board approval and informed patient consent was waived. Electronic radiology and pathology databases were searched to identify patients with PDAC (n = 19), SCN (n = 26), MCN (n = 20) and a pseudocyst (n = 23) who underwent pancreatic CT imaging. The number, size, location, and contents of cysts, and the contour of the lesions were reviewed, in addition to the wall thickness, enhancement patterns, and other signs of pancreatic and peripancreatic involvement. Diagnosis was based on lesion resection (n = 82) or on a combination of cytological findings, biochemical markers, and tumor markers (n = 6). Fisher's exact test was used to analyze the results. RESULTS: A combination of the CT findings including irregular contour, multiple cysts, mural nodes, and localized thickening, had a relatively high sensitivity (74%) and specificity (75%) for differentiating PDAC from SCN, MCN, and pseudocysts (p < 0.05). Other CT findings such as location, greatest dimension, or the presence of calcification were not significantly different. CONCLUSION: The CT findings for PDAC are non-specific, but perhaps helpful for differentiation. PDAC should be included in the general differential diagnosis of pancreatic cystic neoplasms.
Adenocarcinoma/pathology/*radiography ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous/pathology/*radiography ; Cystadenoma, Mucinous/pathology/*radiography ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/pathology/*radiography ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; *Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tumor Markers, Biological/analysis

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum CA-125 concentration, when used in combination with the preoperative contrast-enhanced CT results, to differentiate borderline ovarian tumors (BOTs) from stage I malignant epithelial ovarian tumors (MEOTs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ninety-eight masses (46 BOTs and 52 stage I MEOTs) from 87 consecutive patients (49 with BOTs and 38 with stage I MEOTs) who had undergone preoperative contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and surgical staging were evaluated retrospectively and independently by two radiologists. The preoperative serum CA-125 concentration was measured in all patients. The utility of analyzing serum CA-125 concentration in combination with the CT results was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: An irregular tumor surface and lymphadenopathy were predictive of a MEOT. ROC analysis showed that the combination of CT data and the serum CA-125 level resulted in a higher diagnostic performance than did using the CT alone for differentiating BOTs from MEOTs. The areas under the curves (AUCs) without and with the use of the serum CA-125 level data were 0.67 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.57-0.77) and 0.78 (95% CI: 0.68-0.85), respectively, for reader 1 (p = 0.029) and 0.71 (95% CI: 0.61-0.80) and 0.81 (95% CI: 0.72-0.89), respectively, for reader 2 (p = 0.009). CONCLUSION: The serum CA-125 concentration is of additional diagnostic value when used in conjunction with the CT imaging results for differentiating BOTs from MEOTs.
Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous/*blood/pathology/*radiography ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Biological Markers/blood ; CA-125 Antigen/*blood ; Contrast Media/diagnostic use ; Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous/*blood/pathology/*radiography ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Ovarian Neoplasms/*blood/pathology/*radiography ; Predictive Value of Tests ; ROC Curve ; Retrospective Studies