Bobby Kalb1, Juan M. Sarmiento2,
N. Volkan Adsay3, James Costello1, Hiroumi Kitajima1,
Puneet Sharma1, Christina Lurie1, Diego R. Martin1
1Radiology, Emory
University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States; 2Surgery,
Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States; 3Pathology,
Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, United States
Paraduodenal pancreatitis (PDP) is a clinicopathologically distinct form of focal chronic pancreatitis (CP) thought to be related to obstruction of the pancreatic accessory duct. Differentiation between PDP and pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma (CA) is challenging and represents an important unmet clinical need. Our results demonstrate PDP may be distinguished from CA with contrast-enhanced MRI even with non-experienced readers, with a sensitivity of 88.2% and specificity of 86.7%, when strict diagnostic criteria are followed. Our study contributes to optimized therapeutic management of patients with a pancreatic head mass, supporting a primary diagnostic role for MRI.