Pancreatic Parenchymal Metastases

Abstract

695 etastases to the pancreas are rare, being found at autopsy in 3–12% of patients with advanced malignancy [1, 2]. Recent reports have documented the value of CT both in showing the presence of pancreatic metastases and in providing guidance to obtain a definitive tissue diagnosis [1–7]. Several of these reports have emphasized the pivotal role of the radiologist first in detecting the pancreatic mass and then in suggesting metastasis as the likely diagnosis. This pictorial essay will review the clinical features and the natural history of pancreatic metastasis and will illustrate its varied appearance on helical CT. In so doing, we hope to raise the radiologist’s awareness of and familiarity with this condition.