A brief introduction to ultrasonic diagnosis of pancreatic cancer

The clinical manifestations of pancreatic cancer depend on the location of the cancer, the course of the disease, whether it has metastasized, and whether adjacent organs are involved. The main characteristic of pancreatic cancer is that it develops rapidly. Some patients have just discovered that the disease has already spread throughout the body. Can ultrasound diagnose pancreatic cancer? How to make a differential diagnosis to avoid misdiagnosis? Let's learn about it below.

(1) Ultrasound is cheaper than CT, is more accessible, and can detect liver, intrahepatic, and extrahepatic bile duct tumors with a sensitivity and specificity of over 90%. The accuracy of ultrasound diagnosis is limited by the operator's technique, the patient's enlarged body shape, and gastrointestinal gas. How is pancreatic cancer diagnosed? Usually, ultrasound is used as a supplement to CT.

(2) The first diagnostic test that should be chosen is a CT scan. This scanner does not rely on surgery and is not limited by the patient's body shape and gastrointestinal gas. It can identify liver metastases, lymphatic lesions, and peripheral vascular invasion, but it is unreliable for lesions smaller than 2 cm or small peritoneal nodules. CT can determine the stage of the patient's disease and provide information for cases that cannot undergo surgery. How to diagnose pancreatic cancer? If distant metastasis, invasion of adjacent organs, blood vessel encapsulation or invasion, and lymphatic lesions are found, the tumor cannot be surgically removed. However, CT is not accurate enough for the diagnosis of resectable tumors. Percutaneous fine needle aspiration biopsy can be performed under CT guidance because the histological diagnosis needs to be determined, which is more important for patients who cannot undergo surgery.

(3) Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is not more useful than CT in diagnosing pancreatic cancer, and it cannot show any advantages over CT. However, as a specialized technology in this field, it may play a role in the future from a development perspective.

(4) ERCP is particularly useful in identifying bile duct stones, diagnosing bile duct damage, and obtaining tissue biopsies for duodenal and ampullary cancers. If compression or blockage is found, known as double duct syndrome, small pancreatic head damage can be diagnosed. When pancreatic malignancies are present, the image of the pancreas is rarely normal. Unresectable pancreatic cancers generally have dilated bile ducts. ERCP provides a basis for the possibility of papillectomy and locates internal repair, which can avoid surgical decompression. Inserting an endoscope with the help of ultrasound provides a new method for diagnosing pancreatic tumors. This technology provides the possibility of early diagnosis.

(5) Fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytology under CT or ultrasound guidance can diagnose pancreatic cancer with an accuracy of 76% to 90% and a specificity of almost 100%. When there is no indication for surgery or the patient is unwilling to undergo surgery, FNA may be particularly useful for lesions in the pancreatic tail, body, or metastatic lesions.

The above is the method of using ultrasound to diagnose pancreatic cancer and confirm whether it is pancreatic cancer. In addition, patients should maintain a good mental state, build confidence in overcoming the disease, adopt an optimistic attitude towards life, have a strong will to survive, and with appropriate treatment, they can get unexpected relief or even cure. After improving their understanding of the disease and the treatment process, they should closely cooperate with the hospital's treatment and strive to be cured.