This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Hypoattenuated areas on CT scans of patients with pancreatic neoplasm indicative of mortality
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas who exhibited hypoattenuated areas on computed tomography imaging were at increased risk for mortality that was lowered by surgical resection in a recent study.
Data were analyzed from 243 patients at University of Tokyo Hospital who were diagnosed with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) of the pancreas from 1995 to 2011. After their diagnoses, 59 patients (mean age, 66.6 years; 71% men) opted for surgery, and the remainder (mean age, 69.8 years; 62% men) did not. Surgeries included 37 pancreaticoduodenectomies and 22 distal pancreatectomies. Twenty patients who underwent surgery had invasive carcinoma, including 10 who showed hypoattenuated areas on CT.
Researchers said the areas of hypoattenuation were significantly associated with pancreatic cancer-specific mortality after adjustment with propensity scores based on 16 characteristics (adjusted HR=16.75; 95% CI, 2.72-103.3).
“Cyst diameter, main pancreatic duct diameter, and the presence of a mural nodule were not associated significantly with pancreatic cancer-specific mortality,” the investigators wrote. Surgical management, however, reduced that risk when researchers conducted subgroup analysis, rendering an adjusted HR of 0.11 (95% CI, .01-.89).
“Among patients with IPMNs with consensus indications for surgery, a hypoattenuating area on CT imaging was a significant risk factor for disease-specific mortality, and surgical resection reduced the risk,” the researchers concluded. “This sign may be an absolute indication for surgery among patients with IPMN.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts