The prevalence of pancreatic cystic lesions in patients with liver cirrhosis is double that in controls.

Background and aims: Pancreatic cystic lesions (PCLs) are commonly diagnosed incidentally and are often preneoplastic. Their presence may influence the management of patients with chronic diseases such as liver cirrhosis (LC). This study evaluated the prevalence and nature of PCLs in LC patients.

Methods: The images of 192 LC patients and 192 controls who underwent either computed tomography scan or nuclear magnetic resonance were reviewed for the presence and nature of PCLs. The prevalence of PCLs in both groups and differences between LC patients with and without PCLs were analysed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to investigate factors associated with PCLs.

Results: Thirty-five of 192 LC patients (18%) and 19/192 controls (10%) had PCLs ( p  = .027). The prevalence of presumptive intraductal pancreatic mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) was double in LC patients compared with controls (14% vs 7%; p  = .065). In multivariate analysis, age, LC and having undergone a magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography were factors associated with PCLs and IPMNs. LC patients with PCLs were older at the time of imaging and had a longer history of liver disease (67 vs. 43 months; p  = 0.039) compared with LC patients without PCLs.

Conclusions: PCLs are more common in LC patients than in controls, and most are IPMNs. The occurrence of PCLs in LC patients seems to be related to age and disease duration.