Extrapancreatic lymphoepithelial cyst of the pancreas

Abstract

A lymphoepithelial cyst is reported. A 68-year-old man consulted a surgeon, presenting with a sense of abdominal fullness. Ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed a large tumor, 10 cm in diameter, behind the head of the pancreas. Celiac arteriography at our hospital showed feeding arteries from the dorsal pancreatic artery and the pancreatic arcades. CA19-9 was elevated to 178 U/ml. Laparotomy was performed. The tumor was well demarcated from the surrounding tissue by a fibrous capsule and there was no continuity to the pancreatic parenchyma. Simple tumorectomy and distal gastrectomy for peptic gastric ulcer disease were performed. The cut surface revealed a multicystic lesion containing atheromatous substances. Histopathologically, the internal surface of the cyst was lined with stratified squamous epithelium containing mucin-producing cells; many germinal centers were observed in the cyst wall.