Abstract
Diagnostic imaging plays a crucial role in the management of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Conventional ultrasonography is often the first diagnostic step in the evaluation of the pancreas. The introduction of Tissue Harmonic Imaging, that reduces artifacts increasing spatial and contrast resolution, increases its accuracy. Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse imaging is a new technique able to provide numerical measurements of the tissue stiffness, improving the tissue characterization. Doppler study assesses the patency and characteristics of vessel blood flow, mainly useful to distinguish between resectable and non-resectable lesions. Intrinsic limitations tend to be overcoming since the introduction of ultrasound blood pool contrast media, that through a dynamic real-time observation and high contrast and spatial resolution, allow the evaluation of the pancreatic tumor microvasculature. In some cases a fine-needle-aspiration or a core-biopsy could be necessary to achieve a definitive diagnosis. In the last paragraph, the typical US features of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma are also summarized.
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D’Onofrio, M., Gallotti, A., Martone, E., Principe, F., Mucelli, R.P. (2010). Ultrasound. In: Laghi, A. (eds) New Concepts in Diagnosis and Therapy of Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2010_48
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2010_48
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