Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) can provide relevant imaging feature information and therefore improve the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), according to a new study published in the Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology. The technique also has a high detection rate for small lesions.
The accuracy of MRCP in diagnosing CCA was compared to that of multi-slice spiral computed tomography (MSCT) in 186 patients who were admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University in China between March 2020 and May 2022 with highly suspected CCA.
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The researchers compared the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the 2 techniques as well as the detection rate of lesions with different diameters. They also analyzed the imaging features of both techniques.
They found that the diagnostic accuracy of MRCP was 95.7%, its sensitivity was 95.12%, and its specificity was 96.15%. These values were higher compared to the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of MSCT, which were 69.89%, 60.98%, and 76.92%, respectively.
The researchers also reported that the detection rate of MRCP of lesions measuring less than 0.5 cm in diameter was higher than that of MSCT with 32.05% compared to 14.%.
However, the detection rates of lesions measuring between 0.5 and 1 cm in diameter was higher with MSCT at 50% compared to MRCP, which was 38.46%. This was also the case for lesions measuring more than 1 cm in diameter with MSCT having a detection rate of 36% and MRCP a detection rate of 29.49%.
The researchers concluded that MRCP could improve the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of CCA diagnosis, and has a higher detection rate for smaller lesions.
“Clinicians need to combine the results of other laboratory tests to make a comprehensive judgment about each patient’s condition to reduce the rate of missed diagnosis and misdiagnosis as much as possible,” they wrote.
Reference
Ke C, Yang T, Huang G, Gu C. Investigation of the accuracy of magnetic resonance cholangiography and multi-slice spiral computed tomography in the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma. J Gastrointest Oncol. Published online June 30, 2023. doi:10.21037/jgo-22-1294
