Solid and papillary epithelial tumour of the pancreas: cytological case study with ultrastructural and flow cytometric evaluation.

An intraoperative cytological diagnosis of a rare solid and papillary epithelial tumor of the pancreas was made at laparotomy in a 15-year-old Indian female. The characteristic cytological features were the presence of numerous large branching papillary clusters with central vascular stalks lined by multiple layers of uniform bland cells. Perivascular metachromatic material was prominent on Romanovsky stain. Ultrastructural identification of endocrine and exocrine features supports a multipotential cell origin in small pancreatic ductules. DNA analysis, not previously reported for this tumour, demonstrated a diploid population of tumour cells with a low S-phase fraction (0.4%). This would explain the bland nuclear morphology and favourable prognosis with a high rate of surgical cure for this neoplasm.