CYTOLOGIC DIAGNOSIS OF PAPILLARY CYSTIC NEOPLASM OF THE PANCREAS

The diagnosis of papillary cystic neoplasm of the pancreas (PCNP) on c ytologic material allows important therapeutic decisions to be made be fore surgery. We report two cases in which PCNP was diagnosed preopera tively by fine-needle aspiration biopsy, and review the cytologic feat ures of PCNP previously reported in the literature. The distinctive cy tologic features of this tumor included papillary structures composed of tumor cells surrounding myxoid material with delicate central vascu lar cores, and globoid structures composed of amorphous myxoid materia l. The cytologic characteristics of PCNP are reviewed here. Definitive diagnosis of PCNP can be reliably achieved by fine-needle aspiration cytology.