DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS OF BENIGN AND MALIGNANT CYSTIC NEOPLASMS OF THE PANCREAS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.11603/2414-4533.2026.1.16064Keywords:
pancreas, cystic neoplasia, SCA, MCA, IPMN, differential diagnosisAbstract
The aim of the work: to develop a method for differential diagnosis of cystic pancreatic neoplasias, as well as to study the role of the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio as a diagnostic criterion for their malignancy.
Materials and Methods. A retrospective analysis of the comprehensive examination and treatment of 52 patients with pancreatic cystic formations was conducted. According to the histological structure, serous cystadenoma was detected in 42.3 % of patients, mucinous cystadenoma in 40.4 %, and intraductal papillary-mucinous neoplasia in 17.3 % of patients. In 80.8 % of patients, benign neoplasms were diagnosed according to the results of the pathomorphological study, and in 19.2 % of cases, malignant formations were detected against the background of cystic neoplasms of the pancreas. An analysis of NLR, CA 19-9 in blood plasma was conducted, as well as the presence of contrast intracystic formations according to computed tomography.
Results. When combined with the presence of contrasting parietal formations inside the cyst, an increase in the level of CA 19-9 more than 39 U/ml and an increase in the NLR value more than 1.867, cystic neoplasia is considered malignant. The algorithm for differential diagnosis of pancreatic cystic formations is focused on identifying the origin of the cyst and determining treatment tactics. The algorithm includes determining the etiology of the cystic formation based on the study of the level of CA 19-9, NLR, as well as data from instrumental diagnostic methods.
Сonclusions. The developed combined method for differential diagnosis of cystic pancreatic neoplasias has statistically high accuracy: the sensitivity of the developed diagnostic method is 71.4 %, and the specificity is 95.6 %.
Received: 10.10.2025 | Revised: 19.01.2026 | Accepted: 20.02.2026
References
European Study Group on Cystic Tumours of the Pancreas. European evidence-based guidelines on pancreatic cystic neoplasms. Gut. 2018; 67(5):789-804. DOI: 10.1136/gutjnl-2018-316027.
García García de Paredes A, López-Durán S, Foruny Olcina JR, Albillos A, Vázquez-Sequeiros E. Management of pancreatic collections: an update. Rev Esp Enferm Dig. 2020; 112(6):483-90. DOI: 10.17235/reed.2020.6814/2019.
Atef E, El Nakeeb A, El Hanafy E, El Hemaly M, Hamdy E, El-Geidie A. Pancreatic cystic neoplasms: predictors of malignant behavior and management. Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2013 Jan-Feb; 19(1):45-53. DOI: 10.4103/1319-3767.105927.
Plichta JK, Brosius JA, Pappas SG, Abood GJ, Aranha GV. The changing spectrum of surgically treated cystic neoplasms of the pancreas. HPB Surg. 2015; 2015:791704. DOI: 10.1155/2015/791704.
Harrison JM, Castillo CF. To resect or not to resect: a review of pancreatic cyst disease management. Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2018; 34(5):343-48. DOI: 10.1097/MOG.0000000000000463.
Valsangkar NP, Morales-Oyarvide V, Thayer SP, et al. 851 resected cystic tumors of the pancreas: a 33-year experience at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Surgery. 2012; 152(3 Suppl 1):S4-S12. DOI: 10.1016/j.surg.2012.05.033.
Postlewait LM, Ethun CG, McInnis MR, Merchant N, Parikh A, Idrees K, et al. Association of preoperative risk factors with malignancy in pancreatic mucinous cystic neoplasms: a multicenter study. JAMA Surg. 2017 Jan. 1; 152(1):19-25. DOI: 10.1001/jamasurg.2016.3598.
Bauer F. Pancreatic Cystic Lesions: Diagnostic, Management and Indications for Operation. Part II. Chirurgia (Bucur). 2018 May-Jun.; 113(3):318-34. DOI: 10.21614/chirurgia.113.3.318.
Sethi V, Giri B, Saluja A, Dudeja V. Insights into the pathogenesis of pancreatic cystic neoplasms. Dig Dis Sci. 2017 Jul.; 62 (7):1778-86. DOI: 10.1007/s10620-017-4603-1.
Pezzilli R, Calculli L, Melzi d’Eril G, Barassi A. Serum tumor markers not useful in screening patients with pancreatic mucinous cystic lesions associated with malignant changes. Hepatobiliary Pancreat Dis Int. 2016; 15(5):553-57. DOI: 10.1016/s1499-3872(16)60076-0.
Shaprynskyi VO, Kaminskyi OA, Myronyshen YuA, Chernychenko OI, Verba MA. Znachennya hematolohichnykh pokaznykiv PLR ta NLR u dyferentsiyniy diahnostytsi dobroyakisnykh ta neoplastychnykh kist pidshlunkovoyi zalozy [The significance of hematological indices PLR and NLR in the differential diagnosis of benign and neoplastic pancreatic cysts]. Klinichna anatomiya ta operatyvna khirurhiya. 2024; 23(3):41-7. DOI: 10.24061/17270847.23.3.2024.47. Ukrainian.
Zhang X, Zhang W, Feng LJ. Prognostic significance of neutrophil lymphocyte ratio in patients with gastric cancer: a meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2015; 9(11):e111906. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0111906.m
Shaprynskyi VO, Kaminskyi OA, Verba MA, et al. Suchasni pidkhody do diahnostyky ta likuvannya nesformovanykh i sformovanykh kist pidshlunkovoyi zalozy [Modern approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of unformed and formed pancreatic cysts]. Shpytalʹna khirurhiya. Zhurnal imeni L. YA. Kovalʹchuka. 2024; 3:22-7. Ukrainian. DOI: 10.11603/2414-4533.2024.3.14920.
Sarr MG, Carpenter HA, Prabhakar LP, et al. Clinical and pathologic correlation of 84 mucinous cystic neoplasms of the pancreas: can one reliably differentiate benign from malignant (or premalignant) neoplasms? Ann Surg. 2000; 231(2):205-12. DOI: 10.1097/00000658-200002000-00009.
Lee CJ, Scheiman J, Anderson MA, et al. Risk of malignancy in resected cystic tumors of the pancreas < or =3 cm in size: is it safe to observe asymptomatic patients? A multi-institutional report. J Gastrointest Surg. 2008; 12(2):234-42. DOI: 10.1007/s11605-007-0381-y.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 В. О. ШАПРИНСЬКИЙ, О. А. КАМІНСЬКИЙ, Т. В. ФОРМАНЧУК, С. С. СТУКАН, О. І. ЧЕРНИЧЕНКО, Ю. А. МИРОНИШЕН, М. А. ВЕРБА

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish their work in Hospital Surgery. Journal by L. Ya. Kovalchuk agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).







