Lymphoepithelial cyst of the pancreas: Report of a case

An extremely rare case of a lymphoepithelial cyst (LEC) of the pancreas is described herein. A pancreatic cystic tumor was initially detected in a 50- year-old man at a medical checkup. On admission, his serum carbohydrate ant igen (CA) 19-9 level was 8100U/ml and a computed tomography scan revealed a well-circumscribed multilocular cystic tumor in the pancreatic head and bo dy. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography showed no communication bet ween the pancreatic ducts and the tumor. A distal pancreatectomy with lymph node dissection was performed because the lesion was suspected to be a muc inous cystadenoma or cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas. However. histologi cal examination revealed that the cyst was lined by stratified squamous epi thelium and surrounded by lymphoid tissue, thereby confirming the diagnosis of LEC of the pancreas. The superficial layer of squamous epithelium and t he cystic contents were found to be immunohistologically positive fur CA19- 9. Establishing. a preoperative diagnosis of LEC is quite difficult because it resembles other cystic neoplasms of the pancreas in radiographic featur es and is frequently associated with an elevation of serum tumor markers su ch as CA19-9.