Pancreatic serous cystadenomas. Report of 8 cases with a mean follow up of 7 years.

Serous cystadenoma of the pancreas are rare tumors and have little or no malignant potential. We report our experience in the management of eight cases of these tumors in the last 22 years. All the patients were women with a mean age of 59 years. All the cysts caused symptoms. Ultrasound and CT-scan were useful in the diagnosis of the pancreatic cystic tumor out not in determining the nature of these lesions clear. FNA-biopsy was performed in 6 cases but in only case was the diagnosis confirmed. All tumors were resected. Four radical pancreatoduodenectomies, two distal pancreatectomies and two cystectomies were performed. Mean followup was 83.5 months. All patients are alive and with no signs of recurrence. Complications include an external pancreatic fistula, an acute cholangitis and a case of delayed gastric emptying. In all cases the histological diagnosis was serous cystadenoma of the pancreas. We conclude that resection of these tumors is mandatory although they are supposed to be benign, in order to avoid complications and because malignant transformations has been related to nonresective treatment.