Background
Chronic pancreatitis (CP) can result in persistent damage to the endocrine and exocrine tissues of the pancreas. There is an unmet need for quantitative methods to evaluate CP noninvasively.
Purpose
To investigate the utility of T1ρ magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the assessment of CP.
Study Type
Prospective.
Population
Twenty patients with CP and 24 healthy volunteers.
Field Strength/Sequence
3T MRI including T1ρ sequence (spin lock time = 0, 1, 10, 20, 40, 60 msec).
Assessment
Pancreatic T1ρ values and anterior–posterior (AP) diameters in the head, body, and tail were measured in all participants. Regions of interest with circle (ROIcircle) and free‐hand (ROIFH) were drawn for T1ρ value measurements.
Statistical Tests
Mann–Whitney U‐test; Wilcoxon Signed Ranks test; receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve; and Bland–Altman analysis.
Results
The T1ρ values of pancreatic tail and the mean T1ρ values for ROIcircle and the T1ρ values of pancreatic tail for ROIFH in patients with CP were significantly higher than those in healthy volunteers (all P < 0.05). Pancreatic head AP diameter significantly increased, while pancreatic tail AP diameter significantly decreased in patients with CP compared with healthy volunteers (both P < 0.05). The areas under the ROC curves (AUCs) of pancreatic tail T1ρ values with ROIcircle and tail AP diameter in diagnosing CP were 0.744 and 0.798, respectively. A combination of pancreatic tail T1ρ values with ROIcircle and tail AP diameter achieved good performance for diagnosing CP (AUC = 0.838).
Data Conclusion
T1ρ MRI might be a potential technique for the noninvasive evaluation of CP.
Level of Evidence 2
Technical Efficacy Stage 2
J. MAGN. RESON. IMAGING 2021;53:577–584.