title: Contrast-enhanced transabdominal ultrasonography in the diagnosis of pancreatic mass lesions.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In this study, we evaluated the diagnostic usefulness of contrast-enhanced transabdominal ultrasonography (CE-US) in pancreatic mass lesions that could be detected by US.
  
  
  METHODS
  CE-US was performed in 37 patients with various pancreatic mass lesions to evaluate the characteristic vascular findings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Pancreatic tubular adenocarcinoma showed negative enhancement pattern in 16 cases and a slight spotty enhancement pattern in 5 cases. Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma showed slight homogeneous enhancement pattern in 1 case and acinar cell carcinoma was expressed as a heterogeneous enhancement pattern in 3 cases on CE-US. Endocrine cell tumor had a strong homogeneous enhancement pattern in 3 cases, a strong central enhancement in 1 case and a strong peripheral enhancement in 2 cases. Pseudotumorous pancreatitis showed an iso-enhancement pattern in 6 cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  CE-US is useful in evaluating the vascularity of the lesions in various pancreatic mass lesions in real-time images, and may be useful for the differential diagnosis of pancreatic mass lesions.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Goto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hirooka
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Itoh
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Niwa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayakawa
mesh_terms: D000005:Abdomen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D018267:Carcinoma, Acinar Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003287:Contrast Media; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media