[Computer tomographic diagnosis of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer]

The article reports on 78 CT scans of surgically verified diseases of the pancreas, namely, 30 cases of chronic pancreatitis, 12 cases of haemorrhagic-necrotizing pancreatitis, and 36 cases of carcinoma of the pancreas. 12 of these cases were operable, whereas 234 were inoperable. The operable carcinomas were so small that proper diagnosis was effected in 50% only, whereas the inoperable carcinomas eluded CT identification in 17% of the cases only. The most important signs of an operable carcinoma of the pancreas are a well-defined enlargement and inhomogeneity of the parenchyma with reduced contrast, especially on bolus injection, as well as dilatation of the bile duct system. The most essential criteria for inoperability are absence of boundaries, especially towards the dorsal side, with infiltration of the retroperitoneal fatty tissue, and lack of delineation of the large vessels. According to the present state of the art, CT does not supply definite criteria for differentiating between an operable carcinoma of the pancreas and chronic fibrotic pancreatitis. Overstepping of the marginal contours is a reliably distinctive feature between carcinoma and pancreatitis, but it also points to the inoperable nature of the disease. Haemorrhagic-necrotizing pancreatitis is characterized by definite CT criteria, so that diagnosis is easy.