Pancreatic mucinous ductal ectasia and intraductal papillary neoplasms. A single malignant clinicopathologic entity.

Pancreatic mucinous ductal ectasia and intraductal papillary neoplasms. A single malignant clinicopathologic entity.

Mucinous ductal ectasia and IPN differed histopathologically only in degree of mucin secretion and tumor location. Mucinous ductal ectasia, but not IPN, was characteristically mucin-hypersecreting and more frequently involved the head of the gland than did IPN (11/16 vs. 1/8 p < 0.04). All patients were explored surgically and 20 (83%) of 24 of the tumors were resectable with frozen section control of the duct margins (9 pancreatoduodenectomies, 4 distal pencreatectomies, 7 total pancreatectomies).