Pancreatic metastasis of renal cell carcinoma: multidetector CT findings

Abstract

Pancreatic metastasis of renal cell carcinoma is more prevalent than the rates reported in the literature before the development of multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). These lesions are usually asymptomatic and used to be an incidental finding detected on radiological follow-up of these patients. If they are not associated with extrapancreatic involvement, they show an excellent response to surgical treatment. Thus, radiologists should be aware of the radiological characteristics of this condition to allow detection at an early stage. In this article we review the MDCT features of four cases of pancreatic metastasis of renal cell carcinoma to familiarize radiologists with this entity and the most suitable study method for its detection. The main imaging findings observed were hypervascular lesions in arterial phase of biphasic studies, hence the detection of these lesions is performed better during the early phase scanning.