Retrospective review examines imaging features of chronic calcific pancreatitis in patients with PDAC, suggesting implications for better screening.
Key Points
This research aims to evaluate the prevalence and imaging characteristics of chronic calcific pancreatitis in patients diagnosed with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
Retrospective review of clinical histories and staging CT scans from 1008 patients with PDAC between 2011 and 2022.
Defined chronic calcific pancreatitis by pancreatic calcifications and ductal dilation using CT imaging.
Conducted independent reviews by two radiologists with adjudication for discrepancies.
Chronic calcific pancreatitis was identified in 34 (3.4%) patients with PDAC.
Ductal dilation was linked to significantly elevated levels of CA 19-9 (P=0.003).
41% of patients exhibited intratumoral calcifications, and extratumoral-only calcifications were associated with pancreatic atrophy (P=0.02).