A comparative study of histopathological findings of resectable pancreatic carcinoma (t1, t2 cases) with ERCP and CT images

The diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma at early stage has been considered very difficult. Histopathological findings of resectable pancreatic carcinoma less than 4 cm in size (t1, t2 cases) have been compared with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) and computed tomography (CT) images for the purpose of improving the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma. Twenty-six patients with pancreatic carcinoma less than 4 cm in size, who underwent surgery at the National Cancer Center Hospital from January 1980 to December 1988, were analyzed. The mean age of these 26 cases was 64 years (range of 45 to 78 years), with 13 males and 13 females. Pancreatograms were classified into 4 groups such as stenosis, tapering, obstruction and others, and this classification was compared with histopathological findings. However, ERCP classification showed no correlation with histopathological findings. CT images of the margins, characteristics and density of the tumor were compared with histopathological findings. There existed a good correlation between CT images and histopathological findings such as histological differentiation, macroscopic type of cut surface and INF. For an accurate diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma, it is important that localization of the tumor is diagnosed first by ERCP and the characteristics of the tumor should be recognized by CT images.