Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the clinical utility of spiral computed tomography (CT) and colour Doppler ultrasonography (US) in the evaluation of portal-mesenteric trunk (PMT) involvement in pancreatic cancer.
Materials and methods: Ninety-five patients with pancreatic cancer underwent preoperative assessment of the PMT with spiral CT and colour Doppler US. Five stages of vascular involvement were established. During surgery intraoperative US was performed to confirm the preoperative findings.
Results: Of the 95 patients observed, 82 (86.3%) underwent surgery. The sensitivity of spiral CT was 98%, specificity 79%, overall accuracy 80.2%. The positive predictive value was 87.5%; the negative predictive value 96%. The results of colour Doppler US were 92.3%, 72,7%, 72.8%, 79.5% and 88.8%, respectively.
Conclusions: The results indicate that spiral CT is the gold standard in detecting PMT involvement in pancreatic cancer. Colour Doppler US is useful, but adds nothing to CT. Both of these techniques improve the possibility of predicting the resectability of pancreatic cancer.