Five commonly used imaging tests for pancreatic cancer screening

At present, the commonly used imaging examination methods for pancreatic cancer screening in clinical practice are mainly the following:

B-ultrasound (US): Its advantages are low price and high penetration rate of equipment. However, due to the deep position of the pancreas and the presence of an air-containing intestinal tube in front, the diagnostic value of conventional B-ultrasound is not high.

Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS): It is a combination of B-ultrasound and endoscopy. The ultrasound probe goes deep into the digestive tract and is close to the surface of the pancreas. It can not only directly display the pancreas and surrounding structures, but also can directly perform puncture biopsy and treatment. It has a high diagnostic and therapeutic value for pancreatic lesions. However, the popularity of the equipment is low, and it is greatly affected by the operator's experience and the ability to interpret puncture pathology.

Computed tomography (CT, CTCP): It is one of the most widely used pancreatic imaging examination technologies. The scanning layer thickness of the pancreas should be thinned to 3 mm~5 mm. It has high value for common diseases such as pancreatic tumors, inflammation, congenital abnormalities, etc., but it has low display ability for edema caused by simple edematous pancreatitis.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI, MRCP): It is currently an important technology for pancreatic examination. Its value is similar to that of CT in the diagnosis and differentiation of pancreatic diseases, but it is significantly better than CT in showing edema caused by pancreatitis.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP): It can directly display the pancreatic duct and is mainly performed by gastroenterologists. It can also be used for treatments such as stent implantation and stone removal. It should be noted that ERCP can only display the lumen of the pancreatic duct, but not the pancreatic parenchyma and surrounding structures. If it is only from a diagnostic perspective, ERCP is rarely used alone, and is replaced by CT, MRI, US and other examinations.