The diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging in pancreatic carcinoma based on a retrospective analysis of vascular involvement.

A retrospective analysis was made to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging for pancreatic cancer. Twenty-one lesions from 21 patients with pancreatic cancer were examined and all except one, were identified on MR images by a disparity in contrast and/or morphological enlargement. The patients were divided into 3-groups, based on the relationship between the tumor and the portal vein, seen on the MR images. These groups were defined as the separate, touching, and surrounding groups. The MR findings correlated with the findings at laparotomy in 16 patients, 10 of whom underwent tumor excision. In the remaining 4, the MR findings correlated with the angiographic findings. The presence or absence of vascular involvement was correctly diagnosed in 18 of the 21 patients. MR imaging proved useful for detecting pancreatic cancer and cancerous infiltration into the portal vein. MR imaging should therefore aid the surgeon in determining the operability and/or curability of patients with pancreatic cancer.