Retrospective review of cross sectional imaging findings of pancreatic Non Functional Islet Cell Tumor (NFICT) and its hepatic metastases

Objectives: Review and correlate the computed tomography (CT) imaging features of pancreatic Non Functional Islet Cell Tumors (NFICT) and its hepatic metastases. Methods: CT examinations of 28 patients with pathologically proven diagnosis of pancreatic NFICT and no clinical symptoms or signs attributed to hormone overproduction, performed at Mallinkrodt Institute of Radiology, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA between March 2002-July 2006, were retrospectively reviewed by two abdominal radiologists. The imaging findings were analyzed and summarized. Results: Pancreatic NFICT size ranged from 1.2-13 cm. The commonest pattern of enhancement was hypervascular and heterogenous enhancement. The spleen was the commonest invaded nearby local structure. The commonest pattern of enhancement noted in the metastatic liver lesions was hypervascular heterogenous enhancement. 26% of the liver metastatic lesions were associated with invasion/encasement of nearby vessels. Conclusion: Imaging features of pancreatic NFICT can overlap with other pancreatic neoplasms. Therefore combining the imaging features of pancreatic NFICT and its hepatic metastases helps in narrowing the differential diagnosis.