Lymphoepithelial cyst of the pancreas. Report of two cases and review of the literature.

Lymphoepithelial cyst of the pancreas (LC) is a very rare benign lesion and preoperative diagnosis is difficult. Conservative surgery seems to be the appropriate therapy in symptomatic patients or when a precise preoperative diagnosis is not achieved. The benign behavior of all reported cases suggests that the asymptomatic patients with a certain morphological preoperative diagnosis might be clinically followed up. The histogenesis of LC remains to be elucidated.LC of the pancreas is a cyst that is histologically characterized by a fibrous tissue, a lymphoid component and a lining squamous epithelium.Clinical and pathological findings of two personal cases are reported with review of the literature.A 56-yr-old man, complaining of epigastric pain, and a 47-yr-old man, with a history of alcohol abuse, were admitted to hospital. In both cases the lesion was detected with abdominal ultrasound but a certain diagnosis was obtained only after histological examination of the resected cysts.