Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm (IPMN)

Abstract

PathologyIntraductal neoplasms of the pancreas are cystic or mass-forming epithelial tumors with ductal differentiation, that typically grow primarily within the ductal system [14]. Two main groups have been defined: intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) and intraductal tubulopapillary neoplasms (ITPNs).Epithelial morphology and mucin expression patterns define four main histologic subtypes of IPMN [15]: intestinal, gastric, oncocytic, and pancreaticobiliary. Recent papers support the hypothesis of distinct pathways for carcinogenesis among the different IPMN subtypes [16,17].IPMNs are defined as an intraductal grossly visible (typically >1 cm, a threshold useful to distinguish IPMNs from PanINs) epithelial neoplasm made up of mucin-producing cells, arising in pancreatic ductal system [14].