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The paper examines the informational value of positron emission tomography (PET) using 18FDG in the diagnosis of malignant of neoplasms of the pancreas and in the estimation of the extent of a metastatic involvement. Forty-four patients (26 males and 18 females whose age ranged from 28 to 60 years) with histologically verified cancer of the pancreas were examined. The study was conducted in the whole body mode on an Ecat Exact 47 positron emission tomograph following 70-90 minutes of administration of 18FDG, 370-420 MBk. To assess the findings, the differential accumulation ratio (DAR) of formation/liver was calculated. The mean DAR in patients with benign and malignant pancreatic tumors was 1.17 +/- 0.064 and 4.90 +/- 0.3 (p < 0.05). There was a false positive case in a patient with an exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis in the study. A relationship was observed between the level of tumor tissue 18FDG capture and the degree of malignancy. PET scanning in the whole body mode estimates the extent of a tumorous process. The authors' data show that the liver was most commonly involved in a metastatic process (96.6%). Hence, 18FDG PET is a highly informative technique in the diagnosis of malignant pancreatic tumors and in the estimation of the extent of a metastatic process and permits a differential diagnosis between benign and malignant tumors.