Intraductal mucin-producing tumors of the pancreas.

Four cases of intraductal mucin-producing tumors of the pancreas are presented, with a literature review. These tumors have been reported with increasing frequency, especially in Japan, since it was advocated that they represented a new clinical entity in 1982. Despite the recent controversy, intraductal mucin-producing pancreatic tumor has been recognized as a distinct entity, i.e., mucinous ductal ectasia. In the present paper, clinical features of these tumors and their relation to our own classification of mucin-producing pancreatic tumors are discussed.