Lymphoepithelial cysts and cystic lymphangiomas: Underrecognized benign cystic lesions of the pancreas

AIM: To identify their diagnostic and prognostic clinical characteristics in a large series.METHODS: Retrospective review of clinicopathologic and imaging characteristics of patients diagnosed with lymphoepithelial cysts and cystic lymphangiomas of the pancreas at Massachusetts General Hospital.RESULTS: Twelve patients were identified between 1/1/1997 and 8/1/2007. Their median age was 55.5 years(range 19-78 years), and 6 were females. The le-sion was incidentally discovered in half of the patients.Contrast enhanced computed tomography demonstrat-ed that the cysts had thin walls, without calcifications, pancreatic duct dilation or pancreatic parenchyma inva-sion. Endoscopic ultrasound with fine needle aspiration(EUS/FNA) confirmed the diagnosis of a lymphoepithe-lial cyst in 3 patients, one of whom was spared an op-eration and continues to do well after 6 years. Eleven patients had a resection: 3 pancreaticoduodenecto-mies, 7 distal pancreatectomies, and 1 enucleation. The median size of the cysts was 3 cm(range 2-20 cm). At a median follow-up of 57 mo no recurrences or other pancreas-related conditions occurred.CONCLUSION: Lymphoepithelial cysts and cystic lymphangiomas of the pancreas can be diagnosed with a combination of contrast-enhanced computed tomog-raphy scans and EUS/FNA. If the lesion is asymptom-atic, an operation might be avoided.     

Interventional oncology: pictorial review of post-ablation imaging of liver and renal tumors

Percutaneous image-guided ablation is now commonly performed in many institutions for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, liver metastases, and renal cell carcinoma in select patients. Accurate interpretation of post-ablation imaging is of supreme importance because treatment algorithms for these diseases rely heavily on imaging to guide management decisions. The purpose of this pictorial essay is to provide abdominal imagers with a review of the indications for percutaneous ablation in the abdomen, a basic overview of ablation modalities in clinical use today, the expected post-ablation imaging findings in the liver and kidney, and potential complications of hepatic and renal ablation procedures.     

Protocol modifications for CT perfusion (CTp) examinations of abdomen-pelvic tumors: Impact on radiation dose and data processing time

Purpose  

To evaluate the effect of CT perfusion (CTp) protocol modifications on quantitative perfusion parameters, radiation dose and data processing time.     

Predictive value of multi-detector computed tomography for accurate diagnosis of serous cystadenoma： Radiologicpathologic correlation

AIM： To identify multi-detector computed tomography （MDCT） features most predictive of serous cystadenomas （SCAs）, correlating with histopathology, and to study the impact of cyst size and MDCT technique on reader performance. METHODS： The MDCT scans of 164 patients with surgically verified pancreatic cystic lesions were reviewed by two readers to study the predictive value of various morphological features for establishing a diagnosis of SCAs. Accuracy in lesion characterization and reader confidence were correlated with lesion size （≤3 cm or 〉≥3 cm） and scanning protocols （dedicated vs routine）. RESULTS： 28/164 cysts （mean size, 39 mm; range, 8-92 mm） were diagnosed as SCA on pathology. The MDCT features predictive of diagnosis of SCA were microcystic appearance （22/28, 78.6%）, surface Iobulations （25/28, 89.3%） and central scar （9/28, 32.4%）. Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that only microcystic appearance was significant for CT diagnosis of SCA （P = 0.0001）. The sensitivity, specificity and PPV of central scar and of combined microcystic appearance and Iobulations were 32.4%/100%/100% and 68%/100%/100%, respectively. The reader confidence was higher for lesions 〉 3 cm （P = 0.02） and for MDCT scans performed using thin collimation （1.25-2.5 mm） compared to routine 5 mm collimation exams （P 〉 0.05）. CONCLUSION： Central scar on MDCT is diagnostic of SCA but is seen in only one third of SCAs. Microcystic morphology is the most significant CT feature in diagnosis of SCA. A combination of microcystic appearance and surface Iobulations offers accuracy comparable to central scar with higher sensitivity.     

Role of dual energy CT to improve diagnosis of non-traumatic abdominal vascular emergencies

Abdominal Radiology - Computed tomography angiography (CTA) is the modality of choice to evaluate abdominal vascular emergencies (AVE). CTA protocols are often complex and require acquisition of...