Splenic cysts--a Jamaican experience.

A total of eleven (11) cases of non-parasitic splenic cysts have been studied at the University Hospital of the West Indies by routine haematoxylin and eosine and immunohistochemical staining, using epithelial markers (cytokeratin, low molecular weight keratin and epithelial membrane antigen). The majority (eight of eleven) were found to be epithelial or true cysts. This is in contrast to findings previously reported in the literature, based on light microscopic examination, that the majority of splenic cysts are non-epithelial in origin. We therefore suggest that immunohistochemical studies should be used routinely to accurately define the nature of all splenic cysts.