title: Preoperative assessment of longitudinal extent of bile duct cancers using MDCT with multiplanar reconstruction and minimum intensity projections: comparison with MR cholangiography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To compare the performance of MDCT, including multiplanar reformation (MPR) and minimum intensity projection (MinIP) images, with that of transaxial MDCT with MR cholangiography (MRC) in the preoperative evaluation of the longitudinal extent of bile duct cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-seven patients with surgically proven bile duct cancer, who had undergone preoperative multiphasic MDCT and MRC, were included. Two radiologists evaluated the MDCT set with MPR and MinIP images and the image set of transaxial MDCT with MRC, regarding the longitudinal extent of bile duct cancer. The results were compared with the surgical and pathology findings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the MDCT set with MPR and MinIP images and the image set of transaxial MDCT with MRC for predicting the longitudinal extent of bile duct cancer, were 0.938, 0.923 and 0.839, 0.836 for both reviewers. The differences were not statistically significant for either image set or either reviewer. The sensitivity and specificity of the MDCT image set for detecting tumor involvement of the biliary second confluences or intrapancreatic segment were similar for both reviewers to those of transaxial MDCT with MRC.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MDCT with MPR and MinIP images showed comparable diagnostic performance to that of transaxial MDCT with MRC for predicting the longitudinal extent of bile duct cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Seoul National University Hospital, 110-744, Seoul, South Korea. isryoo@gmail.com
authors.forename: Inseon
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ryoo
authors.forename: Jeong Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hee Sun
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Joon Koo
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Byung Ihn
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D049448:Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011300:Preoperative Care; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome