BACKGROUND The prognosis for hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies is dismal. Surgery remains the primary curative option but unresectable disease is often discovered during operative exploration. Positron emission tomography (PET) provides unique biological information different from current imaging modalities. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the use of PET in hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies DATA SOURCES We performed an extensive search on PubMed, using PET and hepatocellular, pancreatic, gallbladder, and cholangiocarcinoma as keywords, excluding articles not written in English or on non-human subjects, case reports, and series with <5 patients. CONCLUSION Although PET has shown usefulness in the diagnosis of certain cancers, current literature cautions against the use of PET for determining malignant potential of primary liver and pancreatic lesions. Literature on PET more strongly supports clinical roles for restaging of hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies, and for identifying metastatic disease. SUMMARY The role of PET in detecting hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies has not yet been clearly defined. This article surveys the literature on the use of PET in identifying hepatobiliary and pancreatic malignancies.

Most postoperative myocardial injury is asymptomatic and may only be detected by routine troponin screening. Elevated troponin concentrations after colorectal surgery may facilitate identifying patients at postoperative risk and prompt appropriate testing. Early intervention in select patients may lead to potential reduction of mortality after major colorectal surgery.