Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026
Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging of an Orthotopic Pancreatic Cancer Mouse Model
Published on: April 18, 2015
Contrast-enhanced EUS for differential diagnosis of pancreatic mass lesions: a meta-analysis
Ting-ting Gong1, Duan-min Hu, Qi Zhu
1Department of Gastroenterology, Rui Jin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
Background:
Distinguishing pancreatic adenocarcinomas from other pancreatic masses remains challenging with current imaging techniques. Contrast-enhanced EUS further improved the efficacy of EUS to characterize pancreatic lesions.
Objective:
To assess the accuracy of contrast-enhanced EUS for diagnosing adenocarcinoma in patients with pancreatic masses by pooling data of existing trials.
Design:
We systematically searched the Medline, PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Cochrane Central Trials databases for relevant studies published. Meta-analysis was performed. Pooling was conducted in a fixed-effect model or a random-effects model.
Patients:
Twelve studies involving 1139 patients were included.
Intervention:
Contrast-enhanced EUS.
Main Outcome Measurements:
Meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis.
Results:
The pooled sensitivity of contrast-enhanced EUS for the differential diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinomas was 94% (95% CI, 0.91-0.95), and the specificity was 89% (95% CI, 0.85-0.92). The area under the curve under summary receiver operating characteristic was 0.9732. The pooled positive likelihood ratio was 8.09 (95% CI, 4.47-14.64), and the negative likelihood ratio was 0.08 (95% CI, 0.06-0.10). The subgroup analysis by exclusion of the outliers provided a sensitivity of 93% (95% CI, 0.91-0.95) and a specificity of 93% (95% CI, 0.89-0.95) for the differential diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinomas. The area under the curve under summary receiver operating characteristic was 0.9745.
Limitations:
A small number of studies met the inclusion criteria.
Conclusion:
Contrast-enhanced EUS is a promising, reliable modality for the differential diagnosis of pancreatic adenocarcinoma in patients with pancreatic mass lesions. The finding of a hypoenhanced lesion was a sensitive and accurate predictor of pancreatic adenocarcinomas. It seems to be a useful tool in clinical practice.