“Your CT looked pretty clean,” the gastroenterologist advised. “No sign of active Crohn’s disease.”
He started to leave the room, then turned and added, “Oh, I almost forgot. You have a small pancreatic cyst. I’ll keep track of it.”
Pancreatic cysts are collections of fluid. They can occur in the head, body or tail of the pancreas, according to MedicineNet. Some qualify as true cysts because their linings consist of special cells that secrete fluid into the cysts. Cysts without this type of lining are called pseudocysts. Their walls can include cells from the stomach, intestines and the pancreas itself.
Although pseudocysts aren’t cancerous, other pancreatic cysts can be. Doctors sometimes opt to sample the fluid in a cyst to determine if it’s benign, the Mayo Clinic states.
Symptoms
Some patients who have pancreatic cysts experience no symptoms. However, others report persistent abdominal pain, often radiating from the back. Some have a palpable mass in the abdomen where the pancreas is located. Nausea and vomiting are also common.
It’s time to see a doctor if an individual experiences a fever and persistent abdominal pain. These symptoms might indicate an infected cyst.
Health care providers consider a ruptured pseudocyst a medical emergency because the fluid it releases can damage adjacent blood vessels, resulting in massive bleeding. Signs of this emergency include fainting, severe abdominal pain, decreased consciousness and a rapid heartbeat.
According to the Mayo Clinic, the cause of a specific pancreatic cyst usually remains unknown. Some are linked to rare conditions such as von Hippel-Lindau disease. Pseudocysts often appear after a flare of pancreatitis – inflammation of the pancreas – but can also occur after blunt trauma like a car accident.
Pancreatitis itself is a risk factor for developing pancreatic cysts. Doctors associate both the presence of gallstones and heavy alcohol use as risk factors for the inflammation.
Types of Cysts
Ultrasound, CT and MRI scans are the tools of choice to detect pancreatic cysts. Sometimes doctors also use endoscopy to drain fluid from one. The location of the cyst plus the patient’s age and sex can help determine which type it is once a pseudocyst has been excluded.
Mucinous crystadenoma. This type can be cancerous or precancerous. It usually occurs in the body or the tail of the pancreas in middle-aged women.
Mucinous duct ectasia. These cysts are often malignant. They tend to appear in the head of the pancreas in males.
Serous cystadenoma. It can grow to a very large size and cause the patient to sense a feeling of fullness. It’s rarely cancerous and typically occurs in middle-aged women.
Papillary cystic tumor. This is the least common and occurs most often in young women. It’s typically in the body or the tail of the pancreas and is often cancerous.
Treatment
The best course of treatment for each cyst depends on its type and whether it causes any symptoms. Some require no treatment. A pseudocyst causing a problem can be drained using a needle or surgically removed during endoscopy. If gallstones trigger pancreatitis, which in turn triggers pseudocysts, doctors might recommend gallbladder removal.
Since a cystadenoma rarely turns into cancer, it often needs no treatment. However, doctors sometimes want to periodically check its size. For other types of pancreatic cysts or lesions, surgery is extremely effective, with a low recurrence rate. There is no standard course of treatment for pancreatic cysts.
