Ring-enhancement pattern on contrast-enhanced CT predicts adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas: A matched case-control study

• Published in: Pancreatology : official journal of the International Association of Pancreatology (IAP) ... [et al.] Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 221 - 226
• Main Authors: Imaoka, Hiroshi, Shimizu, Yasuhiro, Mizuno, Nobumasa, Hara, Kazuo, Hijioka, Susumu, Tajika, Masahiro, Tanaka, Tsutomu, Ishihara, Makoto, Ogura, Takeshi, Obayashi, Tomohiko, Shinagawa, Akihide, Sakaguchi, Masafumi, Yamaura, Hidekazu, Kato, Mina, Niwa, Yasumasa, Yamao, Kenji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Elsevier Limited 01.05.2014
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Agreements; Carcinoma, Adenosquamous - diagnostic imaging; Case-Control Studies; Confidence intervals; Endocrinology & Metabolism; Endosonography; Female; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Matched-Pair Analysis; Medical imaging; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Pancreas; Pancreatic Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Regression analysis; Sensitivity and Specificity; Single-Blind Method; Standard deviation; Tomography, X-Ray Computed - methods; Tumors; Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT); Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS); Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC); Matched case-control study; Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas (ASC)
• ISSN: 1424-3903; 1424-3911
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pan.2014.02.005

Abstract Objectives Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas (ASC) is a rare malignant neoplasm of the pancreas, exhibiting both glandular and squamous differentiation. However, little is known about its imaging features. This study examined the imaging features of pancreatic ASC. Methods We evaluated images of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS). As controls, solid pancreatic neoplasms matched in a 2:1 ratio to ASC cases for age, sex and tumor location were also evaluated. Results Twenty-three ASC cases were examined, and 46 solid pancreatic neoplasms (43 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas, two pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and one acinar cell carcinoma) were matched as controls. Univariate analysis demonstrated significant differences in the outline and vascularity of tumors on contrast-enhanced CT in the ASC and control groups ( P  < 0.001 and P  < 0.001, respectively). A smooth outline, cystic changes, and the ring-enhancement pattern on contrast-enhanced CT were seen to have significant predictive powers by stepwise forward logistic regression analysis ( P  = 0.044, P  = 0.010, and P  = 0.001, respectively). Of the three, the ring-enhancement pattern was the most useful, and its predictive diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for diagnosis of ASC were 65.2%, 89.6%, 75.0% and 84.3%, respectively. Conclusions These results demonstrate that presence of the ring-enhancement pattern on contrast-enhanced CT is the most useful predictive factor for ASC.