Dear AuntMinnie.com Member,
Both CT and MRI have proved their mettle for imaging pancreatic cysts, providing accurate information on the size and shape of the lesions. But does either modality have the edge when it comes to determining when resection is necessary or beneficial?
Dear AuntMinnie.com Member,
Both CT and MRI have proved their mettle for imaging pancreatic cysts, providing accurate information on the size and shape of the lesions. But does either modality have the edge when it comes to determining when resection is necessary or beneficial?
Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, put the modalities to the test, according to an article by staff writer Eric Barnes that we’re featuring this week. UCSF researchers had a pair of radiologists review CT and MRI scans of patients who subsequently underwent either resection or biopsy of a cystic pancreatic mass.
The group found that some types of masses, such as intraductal papillary mucinous tumors, were relatively easy to characterize, while others proved more difficult. Differentiating pseudocysts from mucinous lesions proved problematic, for example.
Which modality was more accurate from a diagnostic standpoint? The results were surprisingly close, but include an important caveat for anyone seeking to use CT or MRI for cystic mass characterization.
Get the rest of the story in either our CT Digital Community, at ct.auntminnie.com, or our MRI Digital Community, at mri.auntminnie.com.
