A side branch IPMN commonly abbreviated BD-IPMN for branch duct tend to be the benign form of this cystic neoplasm. They rarely become malignant whereas the main duct IPMN (MD-IPMN) has a higher tendency to go from pre-malignant to a malignant form. There is a protocol that is used for surveillance of IPMN’s. Generally IPMN’s are surveilled and watched for growth that could lead to ductal dilation, changes in shape or content and size. BD-IPMN’s are monitored and if the diameter reaches 3 cm regardless if benign, surgical intervention is used to prevent severe bouts of acute pancreatitis and the prevention of chronic pancreatitis which could result further into pancreatic cancer. MD-IPMN’s and one’s located where it is communicating closely between a branch duct and the main duct are more likely to have surgical intervention when they reach 1 cm because of their likelihood to transform into malignancy.

The next step for you is to meet with a surgical oncologist that specializes in IPMN’s and pancreas surgery. A surveillance schedule/frequency will be determined where a pancreas protocol CT or MRI is used to do the monitoring. In the majority of patients, IPMN’s remain stable and never cause problems. I was diagnosed with a likely BD-IPMN in the tail several years ago and it has remained at just under 8mm and causes no symptoms. My surveillance is done by an MRI pancreas protocol every 6 months since I had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer over 10 years ago. So I get routine surveillance scans every six months to detect signs of reoccurrence and the IPMN status has been incorporated into the scan.

There is a National clinical study recruiting patients with IPMN’s. There are numerous sites around the USA in nearly every State and you may be interested in participating in the study. The following link describes the scope of the study, eligibility criteria and locations-
https://ecog-acrin.org/clinical-trials/ea2185-pancreas-cancer-prevention/