A Single-Center Retrospective Cohort Review of Pancreatic Cysts and Malignancy in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Transplant Recipients.

Authors

Yasseen El Abdellaoui, Daniel Dong, Julia Zweifach, Grace McDevitt, Logan O Gauthier, Avinash Kambadakone, Sophia Zhao, Christopher Vélez, Yasmin G Hernandez-Barco, Isabel Neuringer

Published in

Digestive diseases and sciences. Jul 15, 2026. Epub Jul 15, 2026.

Abstract

Individuals with cystic fibrosis (CF) develop pancreatic cysts and cancer more frequently than the general population, particularly among lung transplant recipients due to long-term immunosuppression. CF lung transplant guidelines address many gastrointestinal malignancies including colorectal cancer, but do not provide recommendations for routine surveillance of the pancreas.
We aim to highlight the increased risk that CF lung transplant patients face for developing pancreatic cysts and malignancy. This study may inform future multicenter studies and guideline revisions to include monitoring of the pancreas in this population.
An observational, retrospective chart review of CF lung transplant recipients (N = 54) was conducted monitoring pancreatic cyst incidence and severity. Statistics and figures were generated in RStudio.
Twenty-two patients (40.7%) had pancreatic cystic lesions. Nearly, all patients underwent post-transplant, abdominal CT (100%), and ultrasound (98.1%), while 30 patients (55.6%) received an MRI/MRCP. Of those with cysts, 7 (31.8%) had cysts detected pre-transplant, while 15 (68.2%) had cysts detected post-transplant. Seven patients (31.8%) were diagnosed with suspected IPMNs. Seven patients (31.8%) had cysts measuring ≥ 30 mm, 4 (18.2%) exhibited main pancreatic duct dilation > 5 mm, and 8 patients (36.4%) showed a cystic growth rate ≥ 3.0 mm per year. Seven individuals (13.0%) had their cysts sampled for malignancy; two (3.7%) were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and an additional patient experienced rapid multifocal cyst progression and underwent total pancreatectomy.
Findings indicate a higher-than-expected pancreatic cyst and cancer prevalence, supporting the need for formal screening guidelines for CF lung transplant recipients.

PMID:
42458051
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 16 Jul 2026.

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