title: CT of pancreatic neoplasms. Part II: The unusual tumors.
abstract: The pancreas gives rise to a remarkable variety of neoplasms other than ductal adenocarcinoma. Although no individual type of tumor in this category is prevalent enough to qualify as common, most types are currently encountered with a frequency far greater than that in decades of the recent past. This change is largely the result of the expanded use of contemporary abdominal imaging. The unusual tumors of the pancreas vary greatly in their biologic behavior and, accordingly, in their clinical consequences and therapeutic requirements. Accurate diagnosis, therefore, can be of considerable clinical relevance. Not only is it worthwhile to distinguish one type of unusual pancreatic tumors from another, it is perhaps of even greater consequence to distinguish the unusual tumors from ordinary pancreatic adenocarcinomas. The goals of this discussion are to expand radiologic awareness of these uncommon but interesting pancreatic neoplasms and to increase familiarity with their diagnostically salient features.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA.
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Stephens
mesh_terms: D007516:Adenoma, Islet Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D018267:Carcinoma, Acinar Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D018270:Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D018284:Cystadenocarcinoma, Serous / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D018291:Cystadenoma, Mucinous / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D009077:Mucins / Q000378:metabolism; D010181:Pancreatic Cyst / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D009077:Mucins