Different Imaging Techniques in the Diagnosis of Pancreatic Carcinoma

  Objective  To analyze the role of different imaging techniques in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma and learn the changing in the past fourteen years, in order to improve the knowledge of pancreatic carcinoma.

  Methods  The clinical data and imaging results of 414 patients with pancreatic carcinoma who received imaging examinations in our hospital from August 1995 to August 2009 were retrospectively analyzed.

  Results  The most sensitive imaging techniques were encoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). Comparison of the periods between 1995-2003 and 2004-2009 showed that rate of using ultrasound as the initial choice has decreased significantly from 90.3% to 74.5%, while the rate of computed tomography was increasing(9.0% vs. 24.6%) (both P=0.000). The coincidence rate between magnetic resonance cholangio-pancreatography (MRCP) and ERCP in the diagnosis ofpancreatic duct and bile duct was 86.7% and 75.0%, respectively; furthermore, compared with ultrasound, CT, and EUS, MRCP was the most sensitive technique in detecting lesions in these locations. Angio-CT showed a performance of 80% in the detection of vascular invasion in splenic vessels and in portal vein, and 60% in the superior mesenteric vessels.

  Conclusion  Different imaging techniques have varied performances in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma and should be applied reasonably.