Diagnostic applications of nuclear medicine: Pancreatic cancer

Abstract

Pancreatic cancer can be assessed through a variety of imaging techniques including endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), computed tomography (CT), endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP). These imaging modalities are often effective in the evaluation of pancreatic cancers, although sometimes they require the additional use of radiopharmaceuticals with positron and single-photon emission CT (PET and SPECT) imaging techniques. In this chapter, the role of nuclear medicine with various radiolabeled compounds and the rationale for their use in endocrine and nonendocrine pancreatic tumors are discussed.