Preoperative diagnosis of small pancreatic cancer by MDCT, DWI, and EUS

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer is a severe disease with a poor prognosis; therefore, early diagnosis is critically important. Progress of various imaging studies is remarkable and the number of small pancreatic cancers detected has been increasing because of the development of MDCT and MRI equipment as well as EUS and improved skills. 693 patients were clinically diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at our institution. 152 (22.2%) patients underwent surgical resection, 32 (4.6%) patients were histopathologically confirmed as TS1 pancreatic cancer. The rate of mass detection was 92.3% by MDCT, 77.8% by DWI, and 100% by EUS. The rate of accurate diagnosis was 84.6% by MDCT, 77.8% by EUS, and 96.8% by EUS. Comprehensive diagnosis by their combination enabled us to diagnose all those cases as pancreatic cancer. We consider that diagnosis of small pancreatic cancers is now feasible by utilizing MDCT, DWI, and EUS.