Imaging features of primary Sarcomas of the great vessels in CT, MRI and PET/CT: a single-center experience

BMC Medical Imaging

Research Article

Christine Fegbeutel¹  Frank Bengel²  Christian von Falck³  Bernhard Meyer³  Thomas Rodt³  Frank Wacker³  Florian Länger⁴ 

[1] Department of Cardiothoracic, Transplant and Vascular Surgery, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany;Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany;Department of Radiology, Hannover Medical School, 30625, Hannover, Germany;Institute of Pathology, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany;

关键词: Sarcoma;    Pulmonary Artery;    Great Vessel;    Filling Defect;    Primary Sarcoma;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2342-13-25

 received in 2013-02-13, accepted in 2013-08-06,  发布年份 2013

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundTo investigate the imaging features of primary sarcomas of the great vessels in CT, MRI and 18 F-FDG PET/CT.MethodsThirteen patients with a primary sarcoma of the great vessels were retrospectively evaluated. All available images studies including F-18 FDG PET(/CT) (n = 4), MDCT (n = 12) and MRI (n = 6) were evaluated and indicative image features of this rare tumor entity were identified.ResultsThe median interval between the first imaging study and the final diagnosis was 11 weeks (0–12 weeks). The most frequently observed imaging findings suggestive of malignant disease in patients with sarcomas of the pulmonary arteries were a large filling defect with vascular distension, unilaterality and a lack of improvement despite effective anticoagulation. In patients with aortic sarcomas we most frequently observed a pedunculated appearance and an atypical location of the filling defect. The F-18 FDG PET(/CT) examinations demonstrated an unequivocal hypermetabolism of the lesion in all cases (4/4). MRI proved lesion vascularization in 5/6 cases.ConclusionIntravascular unilateral or atypically located filling defects of the great vessels with vascular distension, a pedunculated shape and lack of improvement despite effective anticoagulation are suspicious for primary sarcoma on MDCT or MRI. MR perfusion techniques can add information on the nature of the lesion but the findings may be subtle and equivocal. F-18 FDG PET/CT may have a potential role in these patients and may be considered as part of the imaging workup.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© von Falck et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2013