The Utility of PET and CT in the Differential Diagnosis of Pancreatic Masses: A Prospective Study in 34 Patients

using 18 F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) can differentiate benign from malignant lesions, yet lack of anatomic information in FDG-PET images limits utility. Dualmodality FDG-PET/computed tomography (PET /CT) provides intrinsically aligned functional and anatomical data. Our aim was to determine if PET/CT can differentiate benign from malignant pancreatic lesions. Methods: A total of 34 patients with pancreatic lesions were prospectively enrolled to receive PET/CT. The standard uptake value (SUV) was calculated 1 h after initiating the scan, and a delayed PET/CT scan at 2 h was performed in 21 of 34 patients. All patients also received sonography and contrast enhanced computed tomography scan (ceCT). Only part of patients received endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography (ERCP). Results: There were 14 benign tumors (proven by histology in 4 cases and by follow-up in 10 cases) and 20 malignant tumors (proven by histology in 14 cases and by follow-up in 6 cases). SUV in benign masses was 0.42 to 4.41 (mean, 2.20�1.21), and in malignant masses was 1.24 to 15.07 (mean, 6.64�3.6). Using