Clinical Features of Intraductal Papillary Neoplasm of the Bile Duct : Report of 3 Cases

[ABSTRACT] Intraductal papillary neoplasm of the bile duct (IPNB) is a rare tumor that is characterized by papillary growth into the bile duct lumen and is considered as a biliary counterpart of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) of the pancreas. However, the definition of IPNB remains controversial because its malignant potential is higher and its frequency of mucus production is lower than those of IPMN. Herein, we report 3 cases of IPNB resected at The Jikei University Daisan Hospital. Mucus production was detected in all cases, in which ovarian-like stroma was absent but bile duct communication was present. The 3 cases were of the pancreatobiliary subtype, the gastric subtype, or the oncocytic subtype. The histologic findings in all cases were cystadenocarcinoma. With curative resection all patients survived more than 3 years. In summary, curative resection improves survival for IPNB more than for ordinary cholangiocarcinoma.