Pancreatic cancer detection with dual-energy CT: diagnostic performance of 40 keV and 70 keV virtual monoenergetic images

To compare the diagnostic performance of 40 keV and 70 keV virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs) generated from dual-energy CT in the detection of pancreatic cancer.

This retrospective study included patients who underwent pancreatic protocol dual-energy CT from January 2019 to August 2022. Four radiologists (1–11 years of experience), who were blinded to the final diagnosis, independently and randomly interpreted 40 keV and 70 keV VMIs and graded the presence or absence of pancreatic cancer. For each image set (40 keV and 70 keV VMIs), the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and accuracy were calculated. The diagnostic performance of each image set was compared using generalized estimating equations.

Overall, 137 patients (median age, 71 years; interquartile range, 63–78 years; 77 men) were included. Among them, 62 patients (45%) had pathologically proven pancreatic cancer. The 40 keV VMIs had higher specificity (75% vs. 67%; P < .001), PPV (76% vs. 71%; P < .001), and accuracy (85% vs. 81%; P = .001) than the 70 keV VMIs. On the contrary, 40 keV VMIs had lower sensitivity (96% vs. 98%; P = .02) and NPV (96% vs. 98%; P = .004) than 70 keV VMIs. However, the diagnostic confidence in patients with (P < .001) and without (P = .001) pancreatic cancer was improved in 40 keV VMIs than in 70 keV VMIs.

The 40 keV VMIs showed better diagnostic performance in diagnosing pancreatic cancer than the 70 keV VMIs, along with higher reader confidence.