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Focal Parenchymal Atrophy of the Pancreas Is Frequently Observed on Pre-Diagnostic Computed Tomography in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer: A Case-Control Study

Authors :
Shin Miura
Tetsuya Takikawa
Kazuhiro Kikuta
Shin Hamada
Kiyoshi Kume
Naoki Yoshida
Yu Tanaka
Ryotaro Matsumoto
Mio Ikeda
Fumiya Kataoka
Akira Sasaki
Waku Hatta
Jun Inoue
Atsushi Masamune
Source :
Diagnostics, Vol 11, Iss 9, p 1693 (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
MDPI AG, 2021.

Abstract

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) accounts for the majority of all pancreatic cancers and is highly lethal. Focal parenchymal atrophy (FPA) of the pancreas has been reported as a characteristic imaging finding of early PDAC. Here, we reviewed 76 patients with PDAC who underwent computed tomography (CT) between 6 months and 3 years before PDAC diagnosis, as well as 76 sex- and age-matched controls without PDAC on CT examinations separated by at least 5 years. FPA was observed corresponding to the location of the subsequent tumor on pre-diagnostic CT in 14/44 (31.8%) patients between 6 months and 1 year, 14/51 (27.5%) patients between 1 and 2 years, and 9/41 (22.0%) patients between 2 and 3 years before PDAC diagnosis. Overall, FPA was more frequently observed in patients with PDAC (26/76; 34.2%) on pre-diagnostic CT than that in controls (3/76; 3.9%) (p < 0.001). FPA was observed before the appearance of cut-off/dilatation of the main pancreatic duct, suggesting that FPA might be the earliest sign of PDAC. FPA was less frequently found in tumors in the pancreatic head (3/27; 11.1%) than in those in the body (14/30; 46.7%) or tail (9/19; 47.4%). FPA may predict the subsequent PDAC diagnosis, serving as an important imaging sign for the early diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
20754418
Volume :
11
Issue :
9
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
Diagnostics
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.1b0ded3862eb4cbeb5d26b214835190d
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11091693