Contrast-enhanced sonography of small pancreatic mass lesions.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the usefulness of contrast-enhanced wideband harmonic gray scale sonography in assessing the vascularity of small pancreatic mass lesions.


METHODS
Twenty-five patients with 25 pancreatic mass lesions (20 pancreatic carcinomas, 1 islet cell tumor, 1 malignant lymphoma, and 3 focal inflammatory pancreatic masses due to chronic pancreatitis) were examined. All patients held their breath for 20 to 50 seconds after injection of a contrast agent while the vascularity of the tumor was observed on contrast-enhanced wideband harmonic gray scale sonography (early phase). We then monitored the tumor enhancement 60 to 120 seconds after the injection while the patients held their breath for a few seconds (delayed phase).


RESULTS
All 20 (100%) of the pancreatic carcinomas showed no contrast enhancement in the early phase. Fifteen (75%) of the 20 pancreatic carcinomas also showed no contrast enhancement in the delayed phase. The remaining 5 (25%) pancreatic carcinomas showed mild enhancement in the peripheral regions of the tumor in the delayed phase. The other pancreatic masses showed mild or pronounced enhancement throughout the entire lesions in both the early and delayed phases.


CONCLUSIONS
Contrast-enhanced wideband harmonic gray scale sonography is a useful tool for differentiating pancreatic carcinomas from focal inflammatory pancreatic masses or hypervascular pancreatic tumors.
Ozawa
Yutaka
Y
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Yokohama City University School of Medicine, Japan.
Numata
Kazushi
K
Tanaka
Katsuaki
K
Ueno
Norio
N
Kiba
Takayoshi
T
Hara
Koji
K
Morimoto
Manabu
M
Sakaguchi
Takashi
T
Sekihara
Hisahiko
H
Kubota
Toru
T
Shimada
Hiroshi
H
Nakatani
Yukio
Y
D000368:Aged; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D036542:Tomography, Spiral Computed; D014463:Ultrasonography
D003287:Contrast Media