Poor Documentation of the Resectability Status of Pancreatic Cancer in the CT Scan Reports of Patients Referred for Multidisciplinary Team Meeting Discussion: Preliminary Results of the SCANPatient Clinical Trial.

Abstract

Introduction: SCANPatient is a nationwide Australian randomised clinical trial comparing standard narrative-style radiological reporting with an alternative standardised approach for reporting CT scans of the pancreas in suspected Pancreas Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) presented at multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meetings. The aim is to determine whether this standardised synoptic report will result in more accurate diagnosis of localised PDAC, thereby improving delivery of care. The 3-year trial is into the final six months of data collection and has collected data from over 3,100 patients from 33 participating sites. Here we provide a preliminary overview of the resectability status of patients included to date, pooled across treatment arms. Method(s): CT scan reports discussed during MDT meetings at SCANPatient participating sites (including narrative and synoptic reports), were compiled. Non-diagnostic (e.g., non-contrast CT scans) and scans from patients having already undergone surgery were excluded. Resectability status from included CT scans was extracted. Result(s): A total of 2611 reports were included. Of these 51% (n=1331) did not include a clear statement regarding resectability. Of 1280 CT reports that included resectability status, 29.8% were resectable, 14.2% borderline resectable (BR), 20.5% locally advanced (LA)/unresectable and 35.5% metastatic. Conclusion(s): Imaging-based PDAC documentation at MDTs is poor with 51% lacking resectability classification underscoring an urgent need to improve reporting. This could negatively affect the BR/LA subgroup in particular, which is estimated to account for more than a third of MDT presentations nationwide in Australia. Increase of documentation of resectability status would facilitate improved clinical decision-making according to current guidelines.Copyright © 2026, Elsevier B.V.