title: Radiology of pancreatic adenocarcinoma: current status of imaging.
abstract: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the leading causes of cancer death in the West, with a poor overall 5-year survival rate of only 4%. Late clinical presentation with an advanced disease results in a low rate of surgical intervention. Tumor serum marker CA 19-9 is sensitive, although not specific for the diagnosis of adenocarcinomas of the pancreas. The treatment approach is based on whether the tumor is resectable or non-resectable at presentation. Therefore, imaging plays a crucial role in the management of this disease. Many modalities are available to image the pancreas. They include non-invasive techniques, like ultrasound, contrast-enhanced multidetector computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and integrated positron emission tomography/computed tomography, and invasive techniques, like endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic ultrasound. Each of these modalities has its peculiar strengths and weaknesses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. dsahani@partners.org
authors.forename: Dushyant V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Sahani
authors.forename: Zarine K
authors.initials: ZK
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Onofrio A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Catalano
authors.forename: Giles W
authors.initials: GW
authors.lastname: Boland
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Brugge
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D001706:Biopsy; D019160:Endosonography; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010179:Pancreas / Q000473:pathology*; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011300:Preoperative Care; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed