Pathology of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms

Background: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) represent a unique opportunity to treat and prevent a curable neoplasm before it has the chance to progress to incurable cancer. This prospect, however, has to be balanced with the real risk of over treating patients with lesions that would, in fact, never progress during the life of the patient. Purpose: Informed clinical decisions in the treatment of IPMNs are first and foremost based on a deep understanding of the pathology of these lesions. Conclusions: Here we review the pathology of IPMNs, with an emphasis on the clinical relevance of the important features that characterize these lesions.