title: Differentiation of malignant from benign pancreatic mass by Tl-201 abdominal SPECT.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the ability of Tl-201 abdominal SPECT to differentiate between chronic focal pancreatitis and pancreatic malignancy. Seventeen patients (12 men, 5 women; mean age, 56 years; 9 pancreatic cancer, 8 chronic pancreatitis) with pancreatic mass were prospectively investigated with Tl-201 abdominal SPECT. In all patients, CT and/or US could not clarify the nature of the pancreatic mass. Focal hot uptake was present in 8 of 9 patients with pancreatic cancer, while it was present in 2 of 8 patients with chronic pancreatitis. Therefore, the sensitivity and specificity of the present study were 89% and 75%, respectively. A significant difference of Tl-201 uptakes was noted between benign and malignant masses (p < 0.05). Therefore, we concluded that Tl-201 abdominal SPECT was a useful test in differentiation of malignant from benign pancreatic mass, especially when the differentiation could not be made by other imaging modalities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chonnam University Medical School, Kwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Bom
authors.forename: H C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Rew
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Yoon
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D013794:Thallium Radioisotopes