Pancreatic Cystic Lesions: A Focused Review on Cyst Clinicopathological Features and Advanced Diagnostics

Abstract

Macroscopic, endomicroscopic, and histologic findings and correlation are an integral part of the diagnostic evaluation of pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs), as complementing morphologic features seen by different specialties are combined to contribute to a final diagnosis. However, malignancy risk stratification of PCLs with worrisome features can still be challenging even after endoscopic ultrasound guided-fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) with cytological evaluation. This review aims to summarize cyst clinicopathological features from the pathologists’ perspective, coupled with knowledge from advanced diagnostics–confocal laser endomicroscopy and cyst fluid molecular analysis, to demonstrate the state-of-art risk stratification of PCLs. This review includes illustrative photos of surgical specimens, endomicroscopic and histologic images, and a summary of cyst fluid molecular markers.