Pancreatic imaging: Current status of clinical practices and small animal studies

Abstract

Different causative factors acting on the pancreas can result in diseases such as pancreatitis, diabetes and pancreatic tumors. The high incidence and mortality of pancreatic diseases have placed diagnostic imaging in a crucial position in daily clinical practice. In this mini-review article different pancreatic imaging techniques are discussed, from the standard clinical imaging modalities and state of the art clinical magnetic resonance imaging techniques to current situations in pre-clinical pancreatic imaging studies. In particular, the challenges of pre-clinical rodent pancreatic imaging are addressed, with both the image acquisition techniques and the post-processing methods for rodent pancreatic imaging elaborated.

Quantitative intravital imaging for real-time monitoring of pancreatic tumor cell hypoxia and stroma in an orthotopic mouse model

“…This experimental limitation inhibits our understanding of the biological and treatment-induced spatiotemporal changes affecting pancreatic tumors, as well as their supporting vasculature and TME. Previously, some approaches have used ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging to study changes in bulk properties, e.g., tumor volume and perfusion, of pancreatic tumors in the same animal serially over time ( 31 ). However, these methods lack the spatial resolution required to visualize the distinct heterogeneity of tumor cells, stroma, microvasculature, and hypoxia in pancreatic tumors at a cellular level in vivo.…”

Identification of variable stages in murine pancreatic tumors by a multiparametric approach employing hyperpolarized 13C MRSI, 1H diffusivity and 1H T1 MRI

“…This reflects PDAC's high metastatic index, coupled to a paucity of early detection methods. [5][6][7] Arguably, one of the reasons why the years-long induction time of PDAC goes unused treatment-wise resides in insufficient medical imaging advances to accurately characterize pancreas abnormalities. 8 Cross-sectional CT-based imaging methods are not accurate enough for the early detection of pancreatic cancer, and 1 H MRI, which has unparalleled abilities to "see" soft tissues in detail, has proven remarkably ineffective when it comes to screening PDAC.…”

“…However, 80% of patients with PDAC find out they have metastasis by the time the disease is diagnosed. This reflects PDAC's high metastatic index, coupled to a paucity of early detection methods 5–7 . Arguably, one of the reasons why the years‐long induction time of PDAC goes unused treatment‐wise resides in insufficient medical imaging advances to accurately characterize pancreas abnormalities 8 .…”

Evaluating Micro-Optical Coherence Tomography as a Feasible Imaging Tool for Pancreatic Disease Diagnosis

“…Currently, although various imaging tools have been utilized for such purposes, e.g., computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), endoscopic retrograde pancreatography (ERP), ultrasound (US), radionuclide imaging (RNI), endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS), and positron emission tomography (PET) [6][7][8], they still suffer from certain limitations, such as low resolution, limited imaging depths, low diagnostic sensitivities, and the destructive nature of intraoperative or needle aspiration biopsies, as well as difficulties in obtaining the specimens. Hence, it is imperative to explore novel devices or strategies to obtain high-resolution images of the pancreatic tissues in a non-invasive or minimally invasive way [9].…”