Periampullary localized pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia-3 (PanIN-3): evaluation with contrast-enhanced MR cholangiography (MRCP)

BACKGROUND The early determination of premalignant lesions of pancreas can prevent unnecessary excessive surgical procedures and can reduce morbidity and mortality. Pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia-3 (PanIN-3) is a preinvasive form of adenocarcinoma (carcinoma in situ). PanINs have not taken place in the literature of radiology yet, it should be considered in differential diagnosis of pancreatic cystic lesions. CASE REPORT A patient with preliminary diagnosis of chronic cholecystitis who had choledocolithiasis and periampullary pancreatic cyst detected by noncontrast-enhanced (NCE) and contrast-enhanced (CE) magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRCP) is presented. Pathological examination results of gallbladder and pancreatic cyst were reported as gallbladder adenocarcinoma and PanIN-3, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Pancreatic cystic lesions with thin septa which enhances slightly with the administration of contrast material may represent PanIN-3. In patients with cystic pancreatic lesion localized at periampullary region, using CE-MRCP together with NCE-MRCP could be useful in the evaluation of pancreatic cystic masses as well as other abdominal pathologies.