The role of positron emission tomography in the detection of pancreatic disease

Journal Article · Wed Mar 31 23:00:00 EST 1982 · Radiology; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1148/radiology.143.1.6977792· OSTI ID:5586663

Syrota, A; Duquesnoy, N; Paraf, A; Kellershohn, C

Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to assess possible pancreatic disease in 100 patients. Following injection of 10-15 mCi (370-740 MBq) of /sup 11/C-L-methionine, 4-12 transverse sections 2 cm thick were obtained. In 85 patients with a definite diagnosis (45 normal, 9 acute pancreatitis, 18 chronic pancreatitis, and 13 cancer), PET showed a sensitivity of 85.0%, a specificity of 97.8%, and an accuracy of 91.8%, higher than with transmission computed tomography (CT) or ultrasonography, despite relatively low spatial resolution; this can be explained by the fact that exocrine pancreatic function was altered prior to morphological change. In 22 normal subjects, 0.011 +/- 0.003% (mean +/- S.D.) of injected /sup 11/C was found in 1 ml of liver tissue and 0.015 +/- 0.005% in 1 ml of pancreatic tissue; the pancreas-to-liver concentration ratio was 1.3 +/- 0.4. Hepatic /sup 11/C concentration was identical in the four groups of patients. Pancreatic uptake of /sup 11/C-L-methionine was significantly lower in patients with chronic pancreatitis (n = 13) and pancreatic carcinoma (n = 10) (p <0.001); however, it was not possible to distinguish cancer from chronic pancreatitis because the same functional alteration occurred in both.

• Research Organization: Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique, Orsay, France
• OSTI ID: 5586663
• Journal Information: Radiology; (United States), Journal Name: Radiology; (United States) Vol. 143:1; ISSN RADLA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

550602* -- Medicine-- External Radiation in Diagnostics-- (1980-)
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-PLUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
CARBON 11
CARBON ISOTOPES
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY
DIAGNOSIS
DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
DISEASES
DRUGS
EMISSION COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
ENDOCRINE GLANDS
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
GLANDS
ISOTOPES
LABELLED COMPOUNDS
LIGHT NUCLEI
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
NEOPLASMS
NUCLEI
ORGANS
PANCREAS
PATIENTS
POSITRON COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIOPHARMACEUTICALS
SPECIFICITY
TOMOGRAPHY
ULTRASONOGRAPHY