Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma
Abstract
Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest cancers worldwide and has a poor five year survival rate. A reason for this poor survival rate is the delay in diagnosis due to the late presentation of symptoms. This paper focuses on the different imaging modalities used to detect and diagnose pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Radiography is a modality utilized when a patient presents with abdominal pain or back pain, two common symptoms of PDAC. Ultrasound (US) is the commonly used front line diagnostic tool to identify what is causing pain or jaundice, another common symptom of PDAC. Computed tomography (CT) is the most commonly used modality for diagnosing and staging due to its ability to provide cross-sectional imaging. Magnetic …show more content…
The exocrine cells of the pancreas produce enzymes that help with digestion, while the endocrine cells produce hormones that aid in blood sugar regulation. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a cancer that manifests in the exocrine gland cells of the pancreas (“What is pancreas?”, 2015). Pancreatic adenocarcinoma constitutes about 95% of pancreatic cancer occurrences and it is currently the most deadly carcinoma with an overall 5 year survival rate of about 5% (Brouda, 2010; Castellanos & Merchant …show more content…
Patients may be asked to avoid eating four to six hours prior to the scan so the gallbladder is distended and the signal from the stomach can be decreased (Lee & Lee, 2014). Radiographic appearance of pancreatic adenocarcinoma is typically seen as a hypointense mass with indistinct margins on fat-suppressed T1-weighted imaging and in pancreatic parenchymal phase, dynamically enhanced fat-suppressed T1 weighted sequences. The appearance of the mass can be variable on T2 weighted imaging sequences (Lee & Lee, 2014; Pietryga & Morgan, 2015). With the use of MRI imaging, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, also known as MRCP, allows for non-invasive imaging of the pancreatic ducts and biliary tree and is useful in detecting presence of stones as an alternative cause for the ductal dilations typically seen in PDAC. MRCP is superior to CT for visualizing the ducts (Brouda, 2010). In comparison to CT, MRI scans provide better soft-tissue resolution, allow for a better detection of small pancreatic masses, and have increased sensitivity for distinguishing liver metastases (Chaudhary & Bano, 2011; Al-Hawary et al., 2013). Magnetic resonance imaging can be deemed as a better alternative to CT in the case that a patient has an iodine reaction or as
Pancreatic adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the deadliest cancers worldwide and has a poor five year survival rate. A reason for this poor survival rate is the delay in diagnosis due to the late presentation of symptoms. This paper focuses on the different imaging modalities used to detect and diagnose pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Radiography is a modality utilized when a patient presents with abdominal pain or back pain, two common symptoms of PDAC. Ultrasound (US) is the commonly used front line diagnostic tool to identify what is causing pain or jaundice, another common symptom of PDAC. Computed tomography (CT) is the most commonly used modality for diagnosing and staging due to its ability to provide cross-sectional imaging. Magnetic …show more content…
The exocrine cells of the pancreas produce enzymes that help with digestion, while the endocrine cells produce hormones that aid in blood sugar regulation. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is a cancer that manifests in the exocrine gland cells of the pancreas (“What is pancreas?”, 2015). Pancreatic adenocarcinoma constitutes about 95% of pancreatic cancer occurrences and it is currently the most deadly carcinoma with an overall 5 year survival rate of about 5% (Brouda, 2010; Castellanos & Merchant …show more content…
Patients may be asked to avoid eating four to six hours prior to the scan so the gallbladder is distended and the signal from the stomach can be decreased (Lee & Lee, 2014). Radiographic appearance of pancreatic adenocarcinoma is typically seen as a hypointense mass with indistinct margins on fat-suppressed T1-weighted imaging and in pancreatic parenchymal phase, dynamically enhanced fat-suppressed T1 weighted sequences. The appearance of the mass can be variable on T2 weighted imaging sequences (Lee & Lee, 2014; Pietryga & Morgan, 2015). With the use of MRI imaging, magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography, also known as MRCP, allows for non-invasive imaging of the pancreatic ducts and biliary tree and is useful in detecting presence of stones as an alternative cause for the ductal dilations typically seen in PDAC. MRCP is superior to CT for visualizing the ducts (Brouda, 2010). In comparison to CT, MRI scans provide better soft-tissue resolution, allow for a better detection of small pancreatic masses, and have increased sensitivity for distinguishing liver metastases (Chaudhary & Bano, 2011; Al-Hawary et al., 2013). Magnetic resonance imaging can be deemed as a better alternative to CT in the case that a patient has an iodine reaction or as