Diagnostic algorithm for the imaging evaluation of a solid pancreatic mass: is it malignant?

Authors

Juan Carlos Spina, Mariano Lorea, Manuel Ignacio Rossi, Roy Lopez Grove, María Jimena Ossana, María Florencia Sanchez

Published in

Abdominal radiology (New York). Jul 09, 2026. Epub Jul 09, 2026.

Abstract

Pancreatic masses comprise a broad spectrum of benign, inflammatory, premalignant, and malignant entities with markedly different prognoses and therapeutic implications. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) remains the most lethal solid pancreatic neoplasm, whereas inflammatory conditions such as autoimmune pancreatitis and mass-forming chronic pancreatitis may simulate malignancy on imaging, frequently leading to unnecessary surgical resections. Given the increasing detection of pancreatic lesions through widespread use of high-resolution cross-sectional imaging, radiologists play a central role in lesion characterization, risk stratification, and guidance of further diagnostic steps. This review approaches pancreatic mass evaluation not as a catalogue of entities but as a structured diagnostic problem. A six-step algorithm organized around the central clinical question: is it malignant? is presented as the organizing framework of the manuscript, with each subsequent section addressing a specific diagnostic branch of that algorithm. The algorithm assigns a formal confidence level (high, moderate or indeterminate) at each decision node, defined by explicit imaging and clinical criteria with published accuracy data cited where available.

PMID:
42423973
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 09 Jul 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.