Diffusion-weighted image improves detectability of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma concomitant with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm

The present study is aimed to clarify the utility of magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) and the additional value of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) in diagnosing pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) concomitant with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN). This retrospective study involved 38 patients with PDAC concomitant with IPMN and 114 patients (control) who were randomly selected from 320 patients with IPMN without PDAC and were matched with cases for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) strength (1.5 T/3.0 T). Two radiologists reviewed the 2 MR image sets with relevant clinical information blinded, first MRCP alone and then combined MRI set including DWI. Diagnostic capability and interobserver agreement were assessed by using receiver operating characteristics curve (Az) analysis and weighted κ statistics. Az values for the 2 observers were 0.834 and 0.821 for MRCP alone and 0.964 and 0.926 for the combined MRI (P