Dynamic CT of pancreatic tumors

Dynamic computed tomography was performed on 19 patients with clinically diagnosed pancreatic and peripancreatic tumors. There were 10 patients with pancreatic cancer, three with inflammatory pancreatic masses, two with cystadenoma, one with insulinoma, and three with peripancreatic tumors. Computed tomography was performed with a Varian-V-360-3 scanner; scanning was for 30 consecutive sec at 3 sec intervals after the bolus injection of 50 ml of contrast medium into the antecubital vein. Dynamic computed tomography (CT) may be more useful than conventional contrast CT because it facilitates: (1) correct evaluation of tumor vascularity allowing a differential diagnosis; (2) location of the boundary between tumor and a nontumor tissue; (3) detection of small tumors; and (4) visualization of pancreatic invasion by peripancreatic tumors. In addition, contrast enhancement and the degree of vascular proliferation can be quantitatively assessed by analyzing time-density curves.