Functioning islet cell tumor of the pancreas

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of dynamic spiral CT, including multidimensional reformation, in the detection and localization of islet cell tumors of the pancreas.Material and Methods: Seven patients with histopathologically proven functioning islet cell tumors of the pancreas were studied with 2-phase contrast-enhanced spiral CT. Scanning of the arterial phase and late phase was started 30 s and 180 s, respectively, after injection of 100 ml of contrast medium at a rate of 3 mls.Results: Axial images in the arterial phase depicted the lesions in 5 patients, but in the late phase in only one patient. Multiplanar reformatted images of the arterial phase depicted the lesions in all 7 patients. Maximal intensity projection images demonstrated all lesions with information of their relationship to the vascular structure.Conclusion: Dynamic spiral CT with scanning during the arterial phase and retrospective multidimensional reformation is useful for preoperative detection and localization of small islet cell tumors of the pancreas.