Meta-analysis clarifies role of MRI, CT, and EUS in pancreatic cancer staging

For pancreatic cancer staging, CT outperforms MRI for vascular invasion (82% vs 70% sensitivity) and resectability (88% vs 63% specificity), while MRI excels for liver metastases (93% vs 73% sensitivity). EUS is best for lymph node assessment (87% sensitivity).

• MRI with DWI offers 93% sensitivity for liver metastases, significantly higher than CT (73%), making it valuable for pre-pancreatectomy evaluation.
• CT provides 82% sensitivity for vascular invasion and 88% specificity for resectability, outperforming MRI; lower MRI specificity may stem from difficulty distinguishing PDAC from pancreatitis.
• EUS shows highest sensitivity for lymph node involvement (87%) but should be reserved for equivocal cases or tissue sampling, not overall resectability assessment.

Automated summary

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