Karger Publishers, Neuroendocrinology, 8(111), p. 705-717, 2020
DOI: 10.1159/000510514
Full text: Unavailable
<b><i>Background:</i></b> Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (pNETs) have a high prevalence in patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) and are the leading cause of death. Tumor size is still regarded as the main prognostic factor and therefore used for surgical decision-making. We assessed reliability and agreement of radiological and pathological tumor size in a population-based cohort of patients with MEN1-related pNETs. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Patients were selected from the Dutch MEN1 database if they had undergone a resection for a pNET between 2003 and 2018. Radiological (MRI, CT, and endoscopic ultrasonography [EUS]) and pathological tumor size were collected from patient records. Measures of agreement (Bland-Altman plots with limits of agreement [LoA] and absolute agreement) and reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients [ICC] and unweighted kappa) were calculated for continuous and categorized (< or ≥2 cm) pNET size. <b><i>Results:</i></b> In 73 included patients, the median radiological and pathological tumor sizes measured were 22 (3–160) and 21 (4–200) mm, respectively. Mean bias between radiological and pathological tumor size was −0.2 mm and LoA ranged from −12.9 to 12.6 mm. For the subgroups of MRI, CT, and EUS, LoA of radiological and pathological tumor size ranged from −9.6 to 10.9, −15.9 to 15.8, and −13.9 to 11.0, respectively. ICCs for the overall cohort, MRI, CT, and EUS were 0.80, 0.86, 0.75, and 0.76, respectively. Based on the 2 cm criterion, agreement was 81.5%; hence, 12 patients (18.5%) were classified differently between imaging and pathology. Absolute agreement and kappa values of MRI, CT, and EUS were 88.6, 85.7, and 75.0%, and 0.77, 0.71, and 0.50, respectively. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> Within a population-based cohort, MEN1-related pNET size was not systematically over- or underestimated on preoperative imaging. Based on agreement and reliability measures, MRI is the preferred imaging modality.