Utility of 18F-FDG PET/CT in Management of Pancreatic and Periampullary Masses—Prospective Study from a Tertiary Care Center

Characterizing a pancreatic or periampullary mass lesion as benign or malignant on conventional imaging is difficult due to overlapping morphological features. 18F-FDG PET/CT is a molecular imaging technique with reportedly higher sensitivity and specificity in the differentiation of benign and malignant pancreatic and periampullary masses. In this prospective study, we evaluated the utility of 18F-FDG PET/CT in patients with recently diagnosed pancreatic and periampullary masses. Based on FDG uptake pattern, diffuse or absent uptake was considered benign and focal increased uptake as malignant. Among the 32 patients included in the study, pathological examination confirmed 25 as positive for malignancy and the remaining 7 as benign etiology. Based on FDG uptake pattern, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and accuracy of the study were 92%, 42.8%, 85.2%, 60%, and 81.3% respectively. 18F-FDG PET/CT had a statistically significant higher detection rate in the evaluation of regional lymph nodes and distant organ metastases compared to radiological imaging. In 7/25 (14%) malignant cases, 18F-FDG PET/CT detected additional distant metastases which were not detected by conventional imaging and thus resulting in change in management from curative resection to palliative therapy. To conculde, 18F-FDG PET/CT uptake pattern can characterize pancreatic and periampullary masses as benign or malignant with a relatively good accuracy. Using 18F-FDG PET/CT for initial staging of pancreatic and periampullary cancer helps in appropriate staging and optimal selection of treatment modality compared to conventional imaging techniques.