The value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the characterization of vascular pattern of solid pancreatic lesions.

UNLABELLED The AIM of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of CEUS in the characterization of pancreatic solid lesions, considering cross sectional imaging techniques (CE-CT/MRI) as the "gold standard" methods. MATERIAL AND METHODS We performed a retrospective, monocentric study that included 91 solid pancreatic lesions which were evaluated by CEUS and by a second-line contrast imaging technique (CT or MRI), considered as the reference method. RESULTS The rate of a conclusive diagnosis based on a typical enhancement pattern was 94% (78/83 cases). In 72 cases out of 83 (86.7%) there was a perfect concordance between CEUS and the "gold-standard" imaging method (CE-CT/MRI). In our study, 88% (73/83) of the pancreatic lesions were categorized as malignant due to their typical wash-out aspect in the late phase. The overall accuracy of CEUS for the differential diagnosis of solid pancreatic tumors was approximately 81%. The accuracy of CEUS for the diagnosis of hypoenhancing pancreatic tumors was approximately 89.1%; while for the diagnosis of hyperenhancing pancreatic tumors it was approximately 72.8%. CONCLUSION CEUS allows the differentiation between hypo- vs. hyperenhancing pancreatic solid lesions, with a considerable diagnostic accuracy, a fundamental step in the precise diagnosis of pancreatic tumors.