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. 2014 Nov;203(5):973-9.
doi: 10.2214/AJR.13.11490.

Interobserver agreement for detection of malignant features of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas on MDCT

Richard K G Do  1 , Seth S Katz, Marc J Gollub, Jian Li, Jennifer LaFemina, Emily C Zabor, Chaya S Moskowitz, David S Klimstra, Peter J Allen
Affiliations

Interobserver agreement for detection of malignant features of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas on MDCT

Richard K G Do et al. AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2014 Nov.

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this retrospective study was to measure interobserver agreement in the assessment of malignant imaging features of intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) on MDCT.

Materials and methods: Pancreatic protocol CT studies were reviewed for 84 patients with resected IPMNs. Maximal diameter of the dominant cyst, presence of a mural nodule, presence of a solid component, and diameters of the main pancreatic duct (MPD) and common bile duct (CBD) were measured by four radiologists independently. In each patient, the IPMN was classified into one of three types: main duct, branch duct, or mixed IPMN. Interobserver agreement of lesion features was examined using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) for continuous features and Fleiss kappa for categorical features.

Results: The final dataset included 55 branch duct IPMNs, nine main duct IPMNs, and 20 mixed IPMNs. Moderate agreement (ĸ = 0.458; 95% CI, 0.345-0.564) was observed in assigning branch duct, main duct, or mixed IPMN subtypes. Measurement agreement was substantial to excellent for dominant cyst (ICC = 0.852; 95% CI, 0.777-0.907), MPD (0.753, 0.655-0.837), and CBD (0.608, 0.463-0.724) but only fair to moderate for the detection of the presence of mural nodule (ĸ = 0.284, 0.125-0.432) or solid component (ĸ = 0.405, 0211-0.577).

Conclusion: Substantial to excellent interobserver agreement in the measurement of cyst diameter, MPD, and CBD support their use for characterizing malignant features of IPMN on MDCT. However, the subjective interpretation of the presence of solid components and mural nodules by individual radiologists was more variable.

Keywords: MDCT; interobserver agreement; intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN); pancreatic cancer.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Interobserver agreement for mural nodules and solid components. These cases show challenge in determining presence of mural nodules and solid components in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) and potential for interobserver variability. A and B, Contrast-enhanced parenchymal phase CT images in coronal plane in two different patients with IPMNs. Mural nodules (arrow) were interpreted as present by two of four readers in A and by four of four readers in B. C and D, Contrast-enhanced parenchymal phase CT images in coronal plane in two different patients with IPMNs. Solid components (arrow) were interpreted as present by two of four readers in C and by four of four readers in D.
Fig.2
Fig.2
Boxplots show maximal cyst diameter (D), main pancreatic duct (MPD), and common bile duct (CBD) values for invasive (I) versus noninvasive (NI) intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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