Evaluation of steady state free precession imaging of the pancreas

The aim of this work was to assess the diagnostic value of fast steady state free precession (SSFP) for the detection, characterization, and delineation of pancreatic lesions. Forty-eight patients referred for magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the pancreas were included in the study. In addition to the standard protocol, axial pre-contrast SSFP slices of the pancreas were acquired. The standard of reference was defined as based on all imaging data other than SSFP, histopathology, surgery, and/or clinical follow-up. A randomized consensus reading of the SSFP data sets was retrospectively conducted by two board-certified radiologists. The presence of pancreatic lesions, local infiltration, and lymph node metastases was evaluated. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated and a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed. The overall sensitivity and specificity of SSFP were 0.93 and 0.77, respectively. Comparable values were achieved for lymph node detection (0.88/0.91) and assessment of vascular infiltration (0.94/0.91). The mean area under the ROC curve (Az) was 0.91. Owing to its potential to detect vascular infiltration and the rapid acquisition time, SSFP imaging should be supplemented as part of a standard MR protocol of the pancreas.