Utility of Diffusion-Weighted MRI for Detection of Locally Recurrent Pancreatic Cancer After Surgical Resection

BACKGROUND. Overlapping imaging findings between local tumor recurrence and postsurgical fibrosis represent a major clinical challenge after pancreatic ductal adeno-carcinoma (PDAC) resection. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of MRI with and without DWI for differentiating locally recurrent tumor and postsurgical fibrosis after PDAC resection. METHODS. This retrospective study included 66 patients (35 men, 31 women; mean age, 60.5 years) who underwent PDAC resection between January 2009 and March 2016, postoperative surveillance CT showing a soft-tissue lesion at the operative site or at the site of peripancreatic vessels, and subsequent MRI with DWI for further evaluation. CT at least 6 months after MRI served as the reference standard, with increase in size of the soft tissue by 5 mm or more differentiating locally recurrent tumor (n = 26) and postsurgical fibrosis (n = 40). Two observers in consensus evaluated MRI characteristics of the soft-tissue lesions. Two additional observers independently reviewed MRI examinations in two separate sessions (conventional MRI alone vs MRI with DWI), recording likelihood of recurrent tumor using a 1-5 scale. ROC analysis was performed, considering scores of 4 or 5 as positive. RESULTS. Subjective diffusion restriction was more common in locally recurrent tumor than postsurgical fibrosis (88.5% vs 25.0%, p = .01). Median ADC was lower for locally recurrent tumor than postsurgical fibrosis (1.3 vs 1.7 × 10-3 mm2/s, p p = .048; observer 2: 0.898 vs 0.637, p p = .008; observer 2: 84.6% vs 42.3%, p = .001) but no difference in specificity (observer 1: 72.5% vs 80.0%, p = .08; observer 2, 95.0% vs 85.0%, p = .10). Interobserver agreement was moderate for conventional MRI (κ = 0.41) and good for conventional MRI with DWI (κ = 0.62). CONCLUSION. The addition of DWI to conventional MRI improves the differentiation of locally recurrent tumor and postsurgical fibrosis after PDAC resection, primarily because of improved sensitivity for recurrence. CLINICAL IMPACT. The findings indicate a potential role for MRI with DWI in surveillance protocols after PDAC resection.