Mucinous cystadenoma of the pancreas

Last revised by Mohammad Taghi Niknejad ◉ on 19 Dec 2023

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Weerakkody Y, Niknejad M, Jones J, et al. Mucinous cystadenoma of the pancreas. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 18 Mar 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-16759

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-16759

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/16759?embed_domain=buyreviewer.com%2Fbest-tire-inflator-on-amazon%2F

rID:

16759

Article created:

18 Feb 2012, Yuranga Weerakkody ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Yuranga Weerakkody had no recorded disclosures.

View Yuranga Weerakkody's current disclosures

Last revised:

19 Dec 2023, Mohammad Taghi Niknejad ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Mohammad Taghi Niknejad had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.

View Mohammad Taghi Niknejad's current disclosures

Revisions:

23 times, by 17 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Gastrointestinal

Tags:

stub

Synonyms:

Mucinous cystadenoma of pancreas
Pancreatic mucinous cystadenoma
MCN pancreas
Mucinous cystadenoma (MCN) of pancreas
Mucinous cystadenoma (pancreas)

Mucinous cystadenomas (MCN) of the pancreas are a type of mucinous cystic neoplasm of the pancreas.

It is a large uni/multilocular cystic pancreatic neoplasm lined by columnar mucinous epithelium. While mucinous cystadenomas very infrequently communicate with the pancreatic duct ¹³, they can cause partial pancreatic ductal obstruction ¹¹. They are considered premalignant or malignant lesions with usually elevated CEA and CA 19-9 serum levels.

Location

Largely (~80%) occur in the body or tail of the pancreas, and less commonly in the head of the pancreas (~20%) ¹¹.

Radiographic features

CT

the tumor contour tends to be rounded or ovoid although this is not an absolutely specific feature ²
associated calcification when present tends to be more peripheral ^1,11
contents of the lesion may be heterogenous in attenuation ²
internal septations may be present and tend to be linear or curvilinear ²

Differential diagnosis

On ultrasound or CT consider:

mucinous cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas: at times almost impossible to differentiate on ultrasound or CT from a mucinous cystadenoma ⁸
pancreatic pseudocyst
oligocystic variant of serous cystadenoma of the pancreas
pancreatic hydatid cyst ¹⁴

References

1. Curry CA, Eng J, Horton KM et-al. CT of primary cystic pancreatic neoplasms: can CT be used for patient triage and treatment? AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2000;175 (1): 99-103. AJR Am J Roentgenol (full text) - Pubmed citation
2. Lv P, Mahyoub R, Lin X et-al. Differentiating pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma from pancreatic serous cystadenoma, mucinous cystadenoma, and a pseudocyst with detailed analysis of cystic features on CT scans: a preliminary study. Korean J Radiol. 12 (2): 187-95. doi:10.3348/kjr.2011.12.2.187 - Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
3. Wouters K, Ectors N, Van steenbergen W et-al. A pancreatic mucinous cystadenoma in a man with mesenchymal stroma, expressing oestrogen and progesterone receptors. Virchows Arch. 1998;432 (2): 187-9. Virchows Arch. (link) - Pubmed citation
4. Tajiri T, Tate G, Inagaki T et-al. Mucinous cystadenoma of the pancreas 17 years after excision of gallbladder because of a choledochal cyst. J. Gastroenterol. 2004;39 (2): 181-7. doi:10.1007/s00535-003-1271-z - Pubmed citation
5. Lee WA. Mucinous cystadenoma of the pancreas with predominant stroma creating a solid tumor. World J Surg Oncol. 2005;3 : 59. doi:10.1186/1477-7819-3-59 - Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
6. Suzuki M, Fujita N, Onodera H et-al. Mucinous cystic neoplasm in a young male patient. J. Gastroenterol. 2005;40 (11): 1070-4. doi:10.1007/s00535-005-1697-6 - Pubmed citation
7. Tokuyama Y, Osada S, Sanada Y et-al. Mucinous cystic neoplasm of the pancreas in a male patient. Rare Tumors. 2011;3 (2): e14. doi:10.4081/rt.2011.e14 - Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
8. Mathieu D, Guigui B, Valette PJ et-al. Pancreatic cystic neoplasms. Radiol. Clin. North Am. 1989;27 (1): 163-76. - Pubmed citation
9. Itai Y, Moss AA, Ohtomo K. Computed tomography of cystadenoma and cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Radiology. 1982;145 (2): 419-25. Radiology (abstract) - Pubmed citation
10. Sahani DV, Kadavigere R, Saokar A et-al. Cystic pancreatic lesions: a simple imaging-based classification system for guiding management. Radiographics. 25 (6): 1471-84. doi:10.1148/rg.256045161 - Pubmed citation
11. Gore RM, Wenzke DR, Thakrar KH et-al. The incidental cystic pancreas mass: a practical approach. Cancer Imaging. 2012;12 (2): 414-21. doi:10.1102/1470-7330.2012.9054 - Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
12. Park JW, Jang JY, Kang MJ et-al. Mucinous cystic neoplasm of the pancreas: is surgical resection recommended for all surgically fit patients?. Pancreatology. 2014;14 (2): 131-6. doi:10.1016/j.pan.2013.12.006 - Pubmed citation
13. Morel A, Marteau V, Chambon E et-al. Pancreatic mucinous cystadenoma communicating with the main pancreatic duct on MRI. Br J Radiol. 2009;82 (984): e243-5. doi:10.1259/bjr/98185084 - Free text at pubmed - Pubmed citation
14. Varun D, Venkatarami Reddy V, Sivaramakrishna G, Chandramaliteeswaran C, Brahmeswara Rao M. Pancreatic hydatid cyst mimicking mucinous cystic neoplasm of pancreas: A case report. (2016) HPB. 18: e341. doi:10.1016/j.hpb.2016.02.883