Lymphoepithelial cysts of the pancreas a management dilemma

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Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis IntVol 13No 5 October 152014 www.hbpdint.com 539 Brief Report Author Affiliations: Departments of Pancreatic Surgery (Martin J, Roberts  KJ,  Smith AM  and  Morris-Stiff  G),  and  Radiology  (Sheridan  M),  St  James's  University  Hospital,  Leeds,  UK;  Department  of  General  Surgery,  Section  of Surgical Oncology/HPB, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio,  USA (Falk GA, Joyce D and Walsh  RM) Corresponding Author: Gareth  Morris-Stiff,  MD,  Pancreatic  Unit,  St  James's  University  Hospital,  Beckett  Street,  Leeds,  LS9  7TF,  UK  (Tel:  +44-  113-2064890; Fax: +44-113-2448182; Email: [email protected]) This  study  was  presented  as  a  poster  at  the  AHPBA,  Miami  2012  and  IHPBA, Paris 2012. © 2014, Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int. All rights reserved. doi: 10.1016/S1499-3872(14)60265-4 Published online May 29, 2014.  ABSTRACT: Pancreatic  lymphoepithelial  cysts  (LECs)  are  rare,  benign  lesions  that  are  typically  unexpected  post-operative  pathological findings. We aimed to review clinical, radiological  and  pathological  features  of  LECs  that  may  allow  their  pre- operative  diagnosis.  Histopathology  databases  of  two  large  pancreatic  units  were  searched  to  identify  LECs  and  notes  reviewed  to  determine  patient  demographic  details,  mode  of  presentation,  investigations,  treatment  and  outcome.  Five  male and one female patients were identified. Their median age  was  60  years.  Lesions  were  identified  on  computed  tomography  performed  for  abdominal  pain  in  two  patients,  and  were  incidentally  observed  in  four  patients.  Five  LECs  were  located  in  the  tail  and  one  in  the  body  of  the  pancreas,  with  a  median  cyst size of 5 cm. Obtaining cyst fluid was difficult and a largely  acellular  aspirate  was  yielded.  The  pre-operative  diagnosis  was  mucinous  cystic  neoplasm  in  all  patients.  This  series  of  patients  were  treated  distal  pancreatectomy  and  splenectomy.  A  retrospective review of radiological examinations suggested that  LECs have a relatively low signal on T2 imaging and a high signal  intensity  on  T1  weighted  images.  LECs  appear  more  common  in  elderly  males,  and  are  typically  incidental,  large,  unilocular  cysts. Close attention to signal intensity on MRI may allow pre- operative diagnosis of these lesions.  (Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int 2014;13:539-544) KEY WORDS: lymphoepithelial cyst; pancreas Introduction P ancreatic  lymphoepithelial  cysts  (LECs)  are  rare,  benign  lesions  of  the  pancreas  first  described  by  Lüchtrath  and  Schriefers  in  1985, [1] and  are  considered  true  cysts.  Kavuturu  et  al [2] reported  that  in  the  28  years  since  the  first  report  of  an  LEC,  109  cases  have  so  far  been  documented  in  the  literature.  There  have  been  several  recent  comprehensive  reviews  documenting the demographic features of LECs, which  indicate  a  strong  male  preponderance,  with  lesions  of  variable  size  distributed  throughout  the  head,  body  and  tail  of  the  pancreas. [2-4] Approximately  half  of  the  patients present incidentally with the remaining patients  being  associated  with  non-specific  symptoms  such  as  nausea,  vomiting,  diarrhoea,  abdominal  pain,  weight  loss, and fatigue. [2-4] LECs  are  benign  and  do  not  possess  malignant  potential  and  thus  accurate  identification  of  these  lesions  is  important  to  avoid  unnecessary  intervention.  However,  LECs  share  radiological  and  pathological  features in common with other pancreatic cystic lesions,  some of which are treated by surgical resection.  Until  recently,  there  was  no  reliable  means  of  pre- operatively diagnosing LECs. The computed tomography  (CT)  appearances  of  LECs  are  those  of  a  well-defined  low-attenuation  lesions, [2] often  with  septations  or  a  multilocular appearance (60%), and they are frequently  exophytic. [5] As  the  cysts  often  contain  a  large  volume  of keratinized material, the pre-contrast scan may show  increased  density  and  appear  solid. [6-7] However,  these  features do not appear to be universal.  Endoscopic  ultrasound  (EUS)  is  of  great  value  for  the evaluation of pancreatic cystic lesions. [8] It has been  suggested  that  LECs  have  diagnostic  features  including  the  presence  of  squamous  epithelium  overlying  dense  lymphoid  tissue,  with  aspirates  that  may  be  white  and  frothy with acellular debris and cholesterol crystals. [2-4] Nasr  et  al, [9] in  the  largest  single  series  evaluating  EUS,  Lymphoepithelial cysts of the pancreas: a management dilemma Julie Martin, Keith J Roberts, Maria Sheridan, Gavin A Falk, Daniel Joyce, R Matthew Walsh, Andrew M Smith and Gareth Morris-Stiff Leeds, UK

Transcript of Lymphoepithelial cysts of the pancreas a management dilemma

LECs of the pancreas

Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int,Vol 13,No 5 • October 15,2014 • www.hbpdint.com • 539

Brief Report

Author Affiliations: Departments of Pancreatic Surgery (Martin J, Roberts KJ, Smith AM and Morris-Stiff G), and Radiology (Sheridan M), St James's University  Hospital,  Leeds,  UK;  Department  of  General  Surgery,  Section of Surgical Oncology/HPB, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio, USA (Falk GA, Joyce D and Walsh  RM)

Corresponding Author: Gareth  Morris-Stiff,  MD,  Pancreatic  Unit,  St James's University Hospital, Beckett Street, Leeds, LS9 7TF, UK (Tel: +44- 113-2064890; Fax: +44-113-2448182; Email: [email protected])

This  study  was  presented  as  a  poster  at  the  AHPBA,  Miami  2012  and IHPBA, Paris 2012.

© 2014, Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int. All rights reserved.doi: 10.1016/S1499-3872(14)60265-4Published online May 29, 2014. 

ABSTRACT:  Pancreatic  lymphoepithelial cysts  (LECs) are rare, benign  lesions  that  are  typically  unexpected  post-operative pathological findings. We aimed to review clinical, radiological and  pathological  features  of  LECs  that  may  allow  their  pre-operative  diagnosis.  Histopathology  databases  of  two  large pancreatic  units  were  searched  to  identify  LECs  and  notes reviewed  to  determine  patient  demographic  details,  mode of  presentation,  investigations,  treatment  and  outcome.  Five male and one female patients were identified. Their median age was 60 years. Lesions were identified on computed tomography performed  for  abdominal  pain  in  two  patients,  and  were incidentally  observed  in  four  patients.  Five  LECs  were  located in  the  tail and one  in  the body of  the pancreas, with a median cyst size of 5 cm. Obtaining cyst fluid was difficult and a largely acellular  aspirate  was  yielded.  The  pre-operative  diagnosis was  mucinous  cystic  neoplasm  in  all  patients.  This  series  of patients were treated distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy. A retrospective review of radiological examinations suggested that LECs have a relatively low signal on T2 imaging and a high signal intensity  on  T1  weighted  images.  LECs  appear  more  common in elderly males, and are typically incidental,  large, unilocular cysts. Close attention to signal intensity on MRI may allow pre-operative diagnosis of these lesions. 

(Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int 2014;13:539-544)

KEY WORDS:  lymphoepithelial cyst;                                 pancreas

Introduction

Pancreatic  lymphoepithelial  cysts  (LECs)  are  rare, benign  lesions  of  the  pancreas  first  described by  Lüchtrath  and  Schriefers  in  1985,[1]  and  are 

considered  true  cysts.  Kavuturu  et  al[2]  reported  that in  the  28  years  since  the  first  report  of  an  LEC,  109 cases  have  so  far  been  documented  in  the  literature. There  have  been  several  recent  comprehensive  reviews documenting the demographic  features of LECs, which indicate  a  strong  male  preponderance,  with  lesions  of variable  size  distributed  throughout  the  head,  body and  tail  of  the  pancreas.[2-4]  Approximately  half  of  the patients present incidentally with the remaining patients being  associated  with  non-specific  symptoms  such  as nausea,  vomiting,  diarrhoea,  abdominal  pain,  weight loss, and fatigue.[2-4]  

LECs  are  benign  and  do  not  possess  malignant potential  and  thus  accurate  identification  of  these lesions  is  important  to  avoid  unnecessary  intervention. However,  LECs  share  radiological  and  pathological features in common with other pancreatic cystic lesions, some of which are treated by surgical resection. 

Until  recently,  there  was  no  reliable  means  of  pre-operatively diagnosing LECs. The computed tomography (CT)  appearances  of  LECs  are  those  of  a  well-defined low-attenuation  lesions,[2]  often  with  septations  or  a multilocular appearance (60%), and they are frequently exophytic.[5]  As  the  cysts  often  contain  a  large  volume of keratinized material, the pre-contrast scan may show increased  density  and  appear  solid.[6-7]  However,  these features do not appear to be universal. 

Endoscopic  ultrasound  (EUS)  is  of  great  value  for the evaluation of pancreatic cystic lesions.[8] It has been suggested  that  LECs  have  diagnostic  features  including the  presence  of  squamous  epithelium  overlying  dense lymphoid  tissue,  with  aspirates  that  may  be  white  and frothy with acellular debris  and cholesterol  crystals.[2-4] Nasr  et  al,[9]  in  the  largest  single  series  evaluating  EUS, 

Lymphoepithelial cysts of the pancreas:a management dilemmaJulie Martin, Keith J Roberts, Maria Sheridan, Gavin A Falk, Daniel Joyce,

R Matthew Walsh, Andrew M Smith and Gareth Morris-Stiff

Leeds, UK

Hepatobiliary & Pancreatic Diseases International

540 • Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int,Vol 13,No 5 • October 15,2014 • www.hbpdint.com

noted that 6 of 9 patients with LECs could be managed non-operatively  on  the  basis  of  EUS  examination  and aspiration cytology. However, others suggested that the results  of EUS are not  reliable,  and  in  the absence of  a squamous  epithelium  rich  in  lymphocytes  it  may  be difficult  to differentiate between LECs and other cystic neoplasms.[10]  It  is generally accepted that  further work is required to clarify the role of EUS.[2, 4] 

Potentially,  the  most  useful  modality  to  establish  a pre-operative  diagnosis  of  LEC  is  magnetic  resonance imaging  (MRI),  with  a  number  of  unique  features having been identified.[11-13] The thick walls of the cysts are  hypointense  on  T1  and  T2  weighted  images  and enhance with administration of contrast and keratinous material,  where  present  high  intensity  on  T1  and  low intensity  on  T2  sequences.[11]  Nam  and  colleagues[12] used a diffusion-weighted MRI protocol, and found that LECs exhibited a profound restriction of water molecule motion on diffusion-weighted imaging, with or without wall enhancement on contrast-enhanced imaging. Kudo et al[13] who look at  in/out-of-phase imaging reported a slight  signal  reduction  during  out-of-phase  sequences compared  with  in-phase  sequences,  indicating  the  co-existence of fat and water. 

The  aim  of  this  study  was  to  review  the  medical histories and investigations of a cohort of patients with known LEC to identify features that may alert clinicians to  the  diagnosis  of  LEC.  Given  the  rare  nature  of  the lesions,  two  large  volume  dedicated  pancreatic  units contributed to the study. 

MethodsPatients  who  had  undergone  resection  of  LECs  were identified  from  the  pathology  department  databases of  two  specialist  pancreatic  centers  (Cleveland  Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA and St James's University Hospital, Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK).

Both  departments  have  dedicated  pancreatic  multi-disciplinary  teams,  and  each  case  was  discussed  at  a multidisciplinary forum consisting of consultant surgeons, radiologists, endoscopists, pathologists and oncologists.

Data  collected  included  demographic  details and  mode  of  presentation  whether  symptomatic  or incidental.  For  cross-sectional  imaging  studies,  data evaluated  included:  location;  size; number; presence of septations; presence of nodules;  rim calcifications;  and diameter of the pancreatic duct. Data collated following endoscopic  ultrasound-guided  fine  needle  aspiration (EUS-FNA) included color, consistency, cytology, mucin and  where  aspirate  allowed  carcinoembryonic  antigen (CEA) and amylase.

The  indications  for  resection  were  recorded  as  the procedures  undertaken,  histopathological  findings, morbidity and outcome. 

ResultsSix  patients  who  were  identified  between  February 2002  and  March  2010  consisted  of  five  males  and  one female.  The  median  age  was  60  years  (range  48-70)  at presentation. Table summarises the demographic details, investigations, management and outcome of each case.

Mode of presentation

All lesions of the 6 patients were identified on cross-sectional  imaging. Four lesions were found incidentally, and  two  were  confirmed  by  imaging  because  of  upper abdominal pain of the patients. No patient had symptoms of pancreatic exocrine or endocrine insufficiency. 

Investigations and findings

CT characterized  the  lesions  initially  in all patients (Fig. 1). The median size was 5.0 cm (range 3.0-6.9) with five lesions located in the pancreatic tail and one in the body.  The  attenuation  of  the  cysts  varied  between  23 and  52  Hounsfield  units  (Hu).  There  were  no  features of  chronic  pancreatitis  or  other  pancreatic  disease;  the pancreatic duct was normal in each patient. 

EUS  identified  that  the  lesions  were  homogenous in  nature  though  one  had  septations  within  it  (Fig. 2). In  half  of  the  lesions,  the  cyst  wall  was  seen  to  be irregular.  Aspiration  was  attempted  on  all  lesions; however  pathologic  analysis  was  not  uniform.  In  each patient,  aspiration  was  difficult  or  unsuccessful  due  to the  viscous  cyst  content,  and  cyst  fluid  was  in  various colors.  The  level  of  CEA  was  analyzed  only  in  one patient and found to be elevated (61 687 IU/L). Amylase analysis was completed in four patients,  three of which had negative results and one had an elevated level (1600 IU/L).  Five  of  six  patients  were  analyzed  for  mucin: three  showed  negative  results  and  two  showed  positive ones.  Cytologic  material  was  available  in  all  patients and  was  non-diagnostic  with  normal  and  occasional inflammatory cells; however, the consistent feature was a largely acellular aspirate. 

MRI was only performed in 3 patients in this series reflecting  its  historical  nature  and  rarity  of  LECs.  No specific diagnostic features were identified at the time of performance  of  the  MRI  scans;  however,  review  of  the imaging in the light of recent observations on the typical characteristic  features  of  LECs  confirmed  that  the  cyst walls to be hypointense on un-enhanced T1/T2 weighted imaging  (Fig.  3).  A  mild  degree  of  enhancement  was 

LECs of the pancreas

Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int,Vol 13,No 5 • October 15,2014 • www.hbpdint.com • 541

observed following administration of the contrast agent gadolinium  in  each  patient.  The  keratinous  material within the cysts produced a high signal intensity of the cyst on T1 weighted sequences (Fig. 4).

Table. Demographic and clinical details of patients with LEC

Characteristics Patient 1 Patient 2 Patient 3 Patient 4 Patient 5 Patient 6

Age (yr)/Gender 61/M 58/F 70/M 56/M 62/M 48/M

Mode of presentation Incidental Incidental Abdominal pain Abdominal pain Incidental Incidental

Pre-op diabetes Yes No No No No No

Smoker No Yes Yes Ex 1996 No No

Blood results* All normal All normal All normal All normal All normal All normal

CT/MRI/EUS/ERCP Y/Y/Y/N Y/Y/Y/N Y/Y/Y/Y Y/N/Y/N Y/N/Y/N Y/N/N/N

Number lesions 1 1 1 2 1 1

Size (cm) 5.0 4.5 6.9 3.0 5.0 6.5

Location Body Tail Tail Tail Tail Tail

Septations No No No No Yes No

Wall thickening or nodules No Yes Yes Yes No No

Rim calcification No No Yes No No No

Main pancreatic duct Normal Normal Normal Normal Normal Normal

FNA Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Fluid aspirate Too viscous Too viscous Yes Yes Yes Yes

Color of fluid NA NA Yellow Brown Colorless Cloudy green

CEA (IU/L) ND ND 61 687 ND ND ND

Mucin Positive ND Negative Positive Negative Negative

Amylase (IU/L) ND ND 1600 Negative Negative Negative

Cytology Negative Negative Negative Negative Atypical Negative

Suspected diagnosis MCN MCN MCN MCN MCN MCN

Indication for operation Increased size Nodules CEA Nodules/Mucin Cytology Increased size

Date operation 2011 2010 2005 2002 2003 2004

Procedure Laparoscopic DP+S Laparoscopic DP+S Laparoscopic DP+S Laparoscopic DP+S Open DP+S Open DP+S

Complication PPF MOF None None None None

Months follow-up & status 26, Alive 4, Dead 82, Alive 125, Alive 98, Dead 17, Dead

Cause of death - Unrelated sepsis - - Nasopharyngeal  tumor

Lymphomatous  meningitis

*: includes routine hematology, biochemistry and serum tumor markers CEA and CA19-9. CT: computed tomography; MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; EUS: endoscopic ultrasound; ERCP: endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography; FNA: fine needle aspiration; CEA: carcinoembryonic antigen; NA: not available; ND: not done; MCN: mucinous cystic neoplasm; DP+S: distal pancreatectomy and splenectomy; PPF: pancreatopleural fistula; MOF: multi-organ failure.

Fig. 1. CT scan through the upper abdomen in pancreatic phase of enhancement. A normally enhanced pancreas (thin arrow). The cyst (thick arrow) arising from the superior border of the pancreas. The attenuation of cyst content was 42 Hu. Note faintly enhanced cyst wall.

Fig. 2. EUS showing a cyst containing fluid with low level echoes (arrow).

Pre-operative diagnosis, indications for treatment, and operative findings

The  pre-operative  diagnosis  was  mucinous  cystic neoplasm  in  every  patient.  Distal  pancreatectomy  and splenectomy  were  performed  in  each  patient  (four laparoscopic).  The  indications  for  surgery  included 

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Fig. 3. T2 weighted  image showing a  low signal  intensity cyst (thick arrow). Cysts are usually of high signal intensity similar to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (thin arrow).

Fig. 4. T1 weighted image of the pancreas showing a relatively high signal intensity cyst (arrow).

Fig. 5. Macroscopic appearance of LEC.

Fig. 6. The cyst wall composed of confluent lymphoid aggregates, lined by stratified squamous epithelium.

increase  in  size  (n=2),  atypical  cytology  (n=1),  and nodularity  or  positive  mucin/CEA  analysis  (n=3). At  laparoscopy  the  pancreas  appeared  normal  in  all patients. The cystic lesions were not adherent to adjacent structures  and  resections  were  uncomplicated.  All  six patients were diagnosed histologically as having LEC.

Histopathology

Histological  examination  revealed  well  delineated, round  lesions  distinguishable  from  adjacent  adipose and pancreatic tissue (Fig. 5). Microscopically, the LECs were filled with keratinous debris and lined by stratified squamous  epithelium,  surrounded  by  a  rim  of  mature lymphoid tissue, comprising mainly T lymphocytes with intervening well-formed germinal  centers  containing B cells (Fig. 6).

Outcome

Four  patients  were  uncomplicated.  One  patient developed a pancreatic fistula that presented with signs of sepsis, and subsequently a pancreaticopleural fistula with empyema formation.[14] Following percutaneous drainage of  the  intra-abdominal  collection  and  thorascopic washout  with  decortication,  he  recovered  without 

complications. Three patients died  subsequently, one of unrelated  nasopharyngeal  carcinoma,  one  of  unrelated lymphomatous  meningitis,  and  one  of  secondary to  sepsis.  The  third  patient  had  a  history  of  chronic obstructive  pulmonary  disease  and  developed  a  post-operative  pneumonia  that  progressed  to  multi-organ failure (MOF). She recovered from this complication and was discharged home. Four months  later, she developed further  chest-related  sepsis,  from  which  she  developed MOF but did not recover on this occasion. 

DiscussionOver  the  past  two  decades,  there  has  been  a  greater appreciation  of  cystic  pancreatic  lesions  because  of the  increased  use  and  higher  fidelity  of  cross-sectional imaging and a diverse group of cystic pancreatic lesions are  currently  recognised.[15]  Accurate  identification  of these  lesions  is  essential  as  the  management  of  benign, indeterminate  and  malignant  lesions  is  very  different. However, despite an array of available technologies, the difficulty in differentiating benign cysts from those with malignant potential with non-invasive imaging has been well-described.[16] 

The current series and the existing literature suggest that  LECs  are  most  commonly  seen  in  elderly  men.[2-4] They  may  be  varied  in  size,  number,  locularity  (60% multilocular),  and  location  although  in  the  series  we reported they were large (all >3 cm), located within the body  and  tail  of  the  pancreas,  and  unilocular  (83%). Therefore, while the demographics may be robust there is 

LECs of the pancreas

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no consensus on morphology. The cysts are characterized by squamous epithelia with a rich vane of sub-epithelial lymphoid tissue and the cyst contents are often white in color and may include keratinized material or cholesterol crystals.[2-4] None of  the patients  in our  series exhibited cyst content fitting the classic description. 

The  pathogenesis  of  LECs  is  uncertain  at  present. Osiro  and  colleagues[4]  reviewed  the  literature  and identified  a  number  of  theories  about  the  pathogenesis of LECs  . The 3 most common theories are:  squamous metaplasia  in  an  obstructed  duct  with  subsequent  cyst formation;  origin  from  ectopic  pancreas  in  a  peri-pancreatic  lymph  node;  and  LECs  due  to  fusion  of misplaced branchial cleft cysts with the pancreas during embryogenesis.  Raval  et  al[17]  examined  the  expression of  MUC  genes  in  9  patients  undergoing  resection  of pancreatic  cysts.  They  identified  MUC1  and  MUC4 in  the  LECs  suggesting  that  they  may  have  originated from  the  pancreatic  duct  as  a  result  of  squamous metaplasia  and  later  cyst  formation  since  these  MUC genes  are  usually  expressed  in  normal  stratified squamous  epithelium,  pancreatic  squamous  metaplasia and  squamoid  cysts  of  the  pancreas,  but  MUC4  is  not normally  seen  in  the  adult  pancreas.  Furthermore,  the group  demonstrated  a  possible  etiology  of  the  raised level of CEA seen in 3 of their patients, as they identified not  only  MUC5AC-positive  goblet  cells  but  also  the positive  staining  the  squamous  epithelium  of  LECs  or CEA  and  carbohydrate  antigen  19-9  (CA19-9)  in  all patients.  This  was  particularly  significant  in  patients with elevated levels of cyst CEA. Bédat et al[18] reported 2 patients with pancreatic LECs linked to HIV infection. They suggested testing all patients with pancreatic LECs for  the  presence  of  HIV.  Interestingly,  their  patients were younger males (45 & 48 years) and both contacted HIV  as  young  adults,  so  they  were  not  characteristic of  the  population  demographics  for  pancreatic  LECs. Therefore,  Bédat  and  colleagues'  proposal  may  be premature  and  further  evidence  is  required  to  justify such  a  policy.  LECs  of  the  parotid  have  been  reported in  patients  with  HIV  infection  and  are  said  to  be pathognomonic  of  the  disease.[19]  However,  Wu  et  al[20] found  no  such  relationship  in  a  series  of  64  parotid LECs. No patients in our series were known to have HIV or shown any manifestations of the condition.

Some  of  the  radiological  features  of  LECs  may theoretically  allow  the  diagnosis  to  be  made  pre-operatively. Abdominal CT demonstrates a cystic lesion, often  arising  from  the  periphery  of  the  pancreas.  The attenuation of LECs is often in the range 20-50 Hu.[2-4, 6, 7] Indeed the range for the current patients was 23-52 Hu. In some patients, the lipid nature of cyst content may be 

suggested by the recognition of areas of  fat attenuation on  CT.[7]  A  measurement  of  attenuation  is  helpful as  both  inflammatory  and  neoplastic  cystic  lesions have  attenuation  values  of  10-15  Hu,  which  reflect  the predominant water content. EUS-FNA has developed as an  important  tool  for  differentiation  of  the  etiology  of pancreatic cystic lesions and is part of the investigation protocol  of  most  pancreatic  units.[8]  In  our  patients, the  cyst  content  varied,  and  no  diagnostic  pattern  was seen  apart  from  the  observation  that  the  fluid  was difficult  to  aspirate.  Importantly,  the  creamy  thick material described by Nasr et al[9] was not observed and cytological examination, performed in all cases, did not show the classical features of an LEC, namely squamous epithelium with a rich lymphocytic infiltrate.[2-4] In our series,  one  of  the  LECs  had  a  markedly  elevated  cyst CEA level and 2 had mucin. These features as reported previously  lead  to  a  diagnostic  dilemma  as  mucinous neoplasms  have  to  be  considered.[20]  Nasr  et  al[9]  noted that  6  of  9  patients  with  LECs  could  be  managed  non-operatively  on  the  basis  of  EUS  examination  and aspiration  cytology,  such  results  are  not  universal. However,  the  current  data[2,  4]  including  ours  would suggest  that  EUS  is  not  a  reliable  modality  for  the  pre-operative  diagnosis  of  LECs.  Recent  development  of MRI  in  detecting  pancreatic  cystic  lesions  including LECs may be helpful to obtain a pre-operative diagnosis as MRI has greater soft tissue resolution, and the signal intensity  on  T1  and  T2  weighted  images  may  reflect the  histopathological  appearances  of  LECs.[11-13]  The findings  of  3  MRIs  performed  in  our  series  were  in consistent  with  those  on  a  hypointense  cyst  wall  by T1  weighted  imaging  after  administration  of  contrast. The  other  diagnostic  feature  was  also  confirmed  with keratinous material producing a high signal intensity on T1 sequences. This feature may help to distinguish LECs from other pancreatic cystic lesions, which are generally of  very  high  signal  intensity  on  comparable  sequences. At present MRI has been incorporated into routine use.

Despite  the  existence  of  the  literature  suggesting that a pre-operative diagnosis of LEC may be dependent on  imaging  studies,  in  our  experience,  the  presence of  additional  features  can  lead  to  operations  in  these cases.  In  two  of  our  patients  with  asymptomatic  cysts, an  increase  would  have  been  possible  in  size  of  the cysts  on  sequential  cross-sectional  imaging.  In  the remaining  patients  whose  pancreatic  cyst  had  been  an asymptomatic  finding,  the  presence  of  nodules,  poor circumscription and enhancement of the cyst wall, and atypical cytology  lead  to  resection of  the cysts as  these features  are  suspicious  of  malignancy  in  mucinous cystic  lesions. In the two patients with abdominal pain, 

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one had a cyst containing mural nodules, and the other had mucin and a significantly elevated level of CEA. The radiological  and  aspirate  features  include  the  presence of  5  of  6  unilocular  cysts,  whereas  the  literature suggests that the majority of cysts are multilocular. It is suspected that lesions may be mucinous cystic neoplasm, which  was  predominant  in  women.[15]  Furthermore,  as all  cysts were greater  than 3  cm  in  diameter,  namely  5 cm or greater, they fell within the Sendai guidelines for excision.[21]

In  conclusions,  LECs  as  uncommon  pancreatic cystic lesions with a predominance in men, are normally present  in  the  sixth  or  seventh  decade  of  life.  They  do not  have  a  consistent  presenting  symptom  profile,  and features on EUS and CT are equivocal. Evaluation with MRI  may  provide  a  signature  that  allows  LECs  to  be diagnosed  pre-operatively,  which  in  turn  may  allow reassurance  and  avoid  operative  intervention.  However, many LECs are likely to be diagnosed post-operatively. 

Acknowledgement: Thanks to C. S. Verbeke, Department of Histo-pathology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden for providing histopathology images.Contributors:  SAM  and  MSG  proposed  the  study.  MJ  and  RKJ performed  research  and  wrote  the  first  draft.  MJ  collected  and analyzed  the  data.  MSG  reviewed  the  original  draft.  All  authors contributed  to  the  design  and  interpretation  of  the  study  and  to further drafts. MJ is the guarantor.Funding: None.Ethical approval: Not needed.Competing  interest:  No  benefits  in  any  form  have  been  received or  will  be  received  from  a  commercial  party  related  directly  or indirectly to the subject of this article.

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Recieved May 16, 2013Accepted after revision January 22, 2014