Imaging presentation of pancreatic cystic lesions

Pancreatic cystic lesions are being recognized increasingly due to the development of computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.Differential diagnosis between pseudocysts and cystic tumors is the key point for pancreatic cystic lesions.Patients with pancreatic pseudocysts generally have a history of acute or chronic pancreatitis,whereas patients with cystic tumors did not have such a history.Some pancreatic cystic lesions did not have typical imaging presentations,and they were difficult to be diagnosed.Pancreatic cystic lesions could be divided into unilocular cysts,microcystic lesions,macrocystic lesions and cysts with a solid component according to the presentations under computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.This typing system is helpful for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of pancreatic cystic tumors,as well as for the guidance of therapy. Key words: Pancreatic cystic lesions; Computed tomography; Magnetic resonance imaging