CT Angiography and surgical assessment of vessels infiltration by pancreatic carcinoma

Pancreatic cancer is the second most common malignancy of the gastrointestinal tract. The only potentially curative treatment is complete surgical resection but it can be performed only in patients without metastatic disease and entire resection with negative surgically and microscopically margins (R0 resection). Complete resection of the tumour with vessels’ involvement is still controversial. However, many authors proved that venous as well as arterial resection and reconstruction did not influence on final outcome. Proper preoperative staging helps in relevant treatment (surgery, radiochemotherapy or combination of these methods). The most common diagnostic step is MDCT with CTA which improves high sensitivity and specificity. The purpose of the study was to assess vessels’ infiltration by pancreatic carcinoma on the basis of CTA and surgery. CTA showed 88,9% sensitivity in diagnosing vessel’s involvement, however in some cases surgery is the method of choice in assessing tumours as resectable or unresectable.