Investigating morphological changes in a simple mucinous cyst during the follow-up period: a case report

A 64-year-old man was referred to our department after a small pancreatic cystic lesion was discovered on computed tomography performed to assess choledocholithiasis. Multiple standard imaging modalities, including endoscopic ultrasound (EUS), failed to reveal pancreatic masses, wall thickening, or mural nodules. Consequently, a benign pancreatic cystic lesion was suspected, and the patient underwent biannual imaging studies including rotating magnetic resonance imaging and EUS. Six years after the initial detection of the pancreatic cyst, wall thickening was observed, leading to a shortened observation period of once every 3 months. After 6.5 years, hypoechoic area surrounding the cyst, which could be interpreted as thickening of the cyst wall was observed, prompting distal pancreatectomy due to the suspicion of malignant disease. The histopathological examination revealed a unilocular mucinous cyst with a single layer of cuboidal cells and low-grade dysplasia. A fibrous proliferation of the polycystic stroma and no ovarian-type stroma was observed. Malignant cells were absent from the cystic epithelium and stroma. The final histopathological diagnosis was a simple mucinous cyst of the pancreatic tail.