How to Follow Patients with Resected Cystic Tumors of the Pancreas

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) is a mucin-producing cystic lesion of the main pancreatic ducts and its branches. IPMNs were first uniquely described in the literature by Ohashi in 1982, who wrote of patients with pancreatic intraductal neoplasms with cystically dilated ducts containing large amounts of mucin [1]. However, it was not until 1996 that the World Health Organization (WHO) created separate diagnostic criteria to distinguish IPMNs from other cystic lesions of the pancreas [2]. Since that time, increasing focus has been shed on these lesions as precursors to pancreatic adenocarcinomas and, therefore, as a focus for early detection. Recent studies have shown that the risk of recurrence of IPMNs, even benign, is not insignificant. While criteria have been established for the surveillance and resection of IPMNs, very little is known about how to best follow patients who have undergone resection of an IPMN. Therefore, a thorough knowledge of the risk of malignancy and recurrence for IPMNs is needed for clinicians to properly follow these patients after surgical resection.