An aggressive surgical approach is warranted in the management of cystic pancreatic neoplasms

Background Cystic pancreatic neoplasms encompass a range of benign to malignant disease. Recommendations for surgical management vary. Methods Records of patients with cystic pancreatic neoplasms from January 1996 through December 2005 were retrospectively reviewed. Results Sixty resections were performed for 16 serous cystic neoplasms, 7 mucinous cystic neoplasms (MCNs), and 37 intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs). Twenty-five percent (15/60) of neoplasms contained invasive cancer. Patients with MCN or IPMN invasive neoplasms experienced significantly diminished overall 5-year survival compared to patients with IPMN carcinoma in situ neoplasms and to patients with MCN or IPMN adenoma/borderline neoplasms (22% vs. 73% vs. 94%, P = .004). Conclusions Given the poor long-term survival of patients with cystic pancreatic neoplasms containing invasive cancer and the current difficulty to preoperatively distinguish among the various types of lesions in a reliable manner, our data support an aggressive surgical approach to the management of cystic pancreatic neoplasms.