Is it worth looking? Abdominal imaging after pancreatic cancer resection: a national study
Authors
Witkowski, Elan R.Smith, Jillian K.
Ragulin-Coyne, Elizaveta
Ng, Sing Chau
Shah, Shimul A.
Tseng, Jennifer F.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of SurgeryDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2012-01-06Keywords
AdenocarcinomaMagnetic Resonance Imaging
Pancreatic Neoplasms
Positron-Emission Tomography
Radiography, Abdominal
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
UMCCTS funding
Surgery
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
INTRODUCTION: Abdominal imaging is often performed after pancreatic cancer resection. We attempted to quantify the volume and estimate the cost of complex imaging after pancreatectomy nationwide, and to determine whether their frequent use confers benefit. METHODS: Patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma who underwent resection were identified in Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results-Medicare (1991-2005). Claims for abdominal imaging RESULTS: Eleven thousand eight hundred fifty studies were performed on 2,217 patients. Ten thousand five hundred forty-two (89%) were CT scans. The median number of scans doubled from three in 1991 to six in 2005 (p < 0.0001). Among patients with sufficient survival to allow for analysis, 51.3% received annual CT scans, while only 32.4% of top-performing patients received annual scans. Univariate analysis of the 10% of patients with superior survival did not reveal any significant benefit associated with annual imaging. CONCLUSION: Utilization of complex imaging after pancreatic cancer resection has increased substantially among Medicare beneficiaries, driven primarily by an increasing number of CT scans. Our study demonstrated no significant survival benefit among patients who received scans on a routine basis.Source
J Gastrointest Surg. 2012 Jan;16(1):121-8. Epub 2011 Oct 5. DOI 10.1007/s11605-011-1699-z
DOI
10.1007/s11605-011-1699-zPermanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/49680PubMed ID
21972054Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1007/s11605-011-1699-z