CASE OF THE MONTH

Lymphoepithelial Cyst of the Pancreas

The patient is a 53 year-old female who presents with a one year history of left-sided abdominal pain.  A CT scan shows a cystic lesion in the head of the pancreas. A fine needle aspiration of this lesion was obtained and no malignant cells were seen. Because neoplasm could not be ruled out, she underwent surgical resection of the tail of the pancreas. Gross examination shows a 5.0 cm unilocular cyst filled with pasty tan material. The adjacent pancreatic tissue is unremarkable. Histologic sections show the cyst to be lined by keratinizing squamous epithelium with underlying dense lymphoid tissue with germinal centers. The cyst contains keratinaceous debris. The diagnosis is lymphoepithelial cyst of the pancreas.

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