Apudoma of the pancreas: benign or malignant?

A middle-aged, obese, black woman complained of abdominal pain and tenderness in the left upper quadrant. An abdominal computerized tomographic (CT) scan revealed an encapsulated cystic mass in the tail region of the pancreas. Selective angiography confirmed mass and hypervascularity, definite encapsulation, and lack of capsular invasion. The diagnostic value of the CT scan, angiography, and special staining in classifying the excised pancreatic mass as an apudoma is discussed. Malignancy was excluded by the lack of capsular-vascular invasion and the absence of metastases. Nonfunctional status was determined by lack of hormone hypersecretion.