Imaging of gastrointestinal lymphoma

Case report of rare primary gastric large B-cell lymphoma

Gastric large B-cell lymphoma is rare and can be challenging to diagnose due to its nonspecific presentation. Primary gastric large B-cell lymphoma is rare, especially compared to systemic disease with gastric involvement. In this case, an 85-year-old female was brought to the ER with abdominal pain, as well as a history of nausea, constipation, and weight loss. CT imaging showed thickening of the anterior wall of the stomach accompanied by inflammatory changes. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a 7-8 cm "half circumferential necrotic" ulcer suggestive of malignancy. Biopsy confirmed this to be gastric large B-cell lymphoma. Subsequent PET-CT showed no metastasis. This case illustrates the value of imaging in diagnosing this unusual condition.

Primary Gastro-Intestinal Lymphoma and Gastro-Intestinal Adenocarcinoma: An Initial Study of CT Texture Analysis as Quantitative Biomarkers for Differentiation

BACKGROUND

To explore the potential role of computed tomography (CT) texture analysis and an imaging biomarker in differentiating primary gastro-intestinal lymphoma (PGIL) from gastro-intestinal adenocarcinoma (GIAC).

METHODS

A total of 131 patients with surgical pathologically PGIL and GIAC were enrolled in this study. Histogram parameters of arterial and venous phases extracted from contrast enhanced modified discrete cosine transform (MDCT) images were compared between PGIL and GIAC by Mann-Whitney U tests. The optimal parameters for differentiating these two groups were obtained through receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated.

RESULTS

Compared with GIAC, in arterial phase, PGIL had statistically higher 5th, 10th percentiles (p = 0.003 and 0.011) and statistically lower entropy (p = 0.001). In the venous phase, PGIL had statistically lower mean, median, 75th, 90th, 95th percentiles, and entropy (p = 0.036, 0.029, 0.007, 0.001 and 0.001, respectively). For differentiating PGIL from GIAC, V-median + A-5th percentile was an optimal parameter for combined diagnosis (AUC = 0.746, p < 0.0001), and the corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 81.7 and 64.8%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

CT texture analysis could be useful for differential diagnosis of PGIL and GIAC.

Thymic carcinoma metastasize to the small intestine: a case report

BACKGROUND

Thymic carcinoma is a rare mediastinal neoplasm with a high malignant potential. It often shows pleural invasion and distant metastasis. The metastasis of thymic carcinoma to the small intestine is rarely reported and difficult to distinguish from other gastrointestinal tract tumors.

CASE PRESENTATION

An elderly man presented with lower abdominal pain for 2 months. Abdominal CT showed a mass communicated with the small intestinal lumen. After radical resection of the small intestinal tumor, resected specimens showed moderately differentiated squamous-cell carcinoma with lymph nodes metastases. The patient received chest CT and was found to have a mass in anterior mediastinum. Biopsies of the mass revealed thymic squamous-cell carcinoma.

CONCLUSIONS

We highlighted the metastasis of thymic carcinoma to the small intestine is rare and easily misdiagnosed. In patients with a mass communicated with the small intestinal lumen, a suspicion of thymic carcinoma metastasis should not be overlooked and we should make accurate differential diagnosis from the other small intestinal tumors.

Uptake Patterns of Untreated Primary Gastrointestinal Extranodal Lymphomas on Initial Staging 18F-FDG PET/CT and Metabolic Tumor Parameters

Objective:

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas arising from tissues other than primary lymphatic sites are classified as primary extranodal lymphomas (PEL). PELs of the gastrointestinal system (PGISL) originate from the lymphatic tissues within the gastrointestinal tract. The prognostic value of ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT in lymphomas is high in terms of both overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS). Our aim was to investigate the uptake patterns and properties of low-grade and high-grade PGISL on primary staging ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT, as well as the prognostic significance of metabolic tumor parameters in high grade PGISL.

Methods:

Thirty-nine patients with PGISL were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study between 2004-2015. Primary staging ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT have been performed and quantitative parameters of SUV_max, SUV_mean, metabolic tumor volume (MTV), total lesion glycolysis (TLG) have been calculated for all patients prior to treatment. Low-grade and high-grade PGISL were compared in terms of metabolic tumor parameters. Cox regression models were performed to determine factors that correlate with DFS in high-grade PGISL.

Results:

There were statistically significant differences between high-grade and low-grade PGISL in terms of SUV_max, SUV_mean, MTV, TLG, recurrence, mortality, DFS and OS. None of the potential risk factors (sex, age, site, SUV_max, SUV_mean, MTV, TLG) for recurrence and metastasis in high grade PGISL was identified as a risk factor on univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis.

Conclusion:

Metabolic tumor parameters are not predictive markers in high-grade PGISL, especially in diffuse large B cell variant and primary gastric lymphoma. The first implications suggest they will not play a role in patient management.

Prognosis estimation under the light of metabolic tumor parameters on initial FDG-PET/CT in patients with primary extranodal lymphoma

Background

Non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas arising from the tissues other than primary lymphatic organs are named primary extranodal lymphoma. Most of the studies evaluated metabolic tumor parameters in different organs and histopathologic variants of this disease generally for treatment response. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of metabolic tumor parameters derived from initial FDG-PET/CT in patients with a medley of primary extranodal lymphoma in this study.

Patients and methods

There were 67 patients with primary extranodal lymphoma for whom FDG-PET/CT was requested for primary staging. Quantitative PET/CT parameters: maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), average standardized uptake value (SUVmean), metabolic tumor volume (MTV) and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were used to estimate disease-free survival and overall survival.

Results

SUVmean, MTV and TLG were found statistically significant after multivariate analysis. SUVmean remained significant after ROC curve analysis. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated as 88% and 64%, respectively, when the cut-off value of SUVmean was chosen as 5.15. After the investigation of primary presentation sites and histo-pathological variants according to recurrence, there is no difference amongst the variants. Primary site of extranodal lymphomas however, is statistically important (p = 0.014). Testis and central nervous system lymphomas have higher recurrence rate (62.5%, 73%, respectively).

Conclusions

High SUVmean, MTV and TLG values obtained from primary staging FDG-PET/CT are potential risk factors for both disease-free survival and overall survival in primary extranodal lymphoma. SUVmean is the most significant one amongst them for estimating recurrence/metastasis.

Conventional radiological strategy of common gastrointestinal neoplasms

This article summarizes the clinical characteristics and imaging features of common gastrointestinal (GI) neoplasms in terms of conventional radiological imaging methods. Barium studies are readily available for displaying primary malignancies and are minimally or not at all invasive. A neoplasm may be manifested as various imaging findings, including mucosal disruption, soft mass, ulcer, submucosal invasion and lumen stenosis on barium studies. Benign tumors typically appear as smoothly marginated intramural masses. Malignant neoplasms most often appear as irregular infiltrative lesions on barium examination. Tumor extension to adjacent GI segments may be indistinct on barium images. Cross-sectional images such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging may provide more accurate details of the adjacent organ invasion, omental or peritoneal spread.

Imaging of primary gastrointestinal lymphoma

Primary gastrointestinal (GI) lymphoma most often arises from stomach, small bowel, or colon. The 2 most common subtypes of primary GI lymphoma include low-grade mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma, strongly associated with Helicobacter pylori infection, and high-grade diffuse, large B-cell lymphoma. Primary GI lymphoma demonstrates a myriad of imaging manifestations that can commonly mimic other pathologies. Timely and accurate diagnosis remains important because treatment and prognosis of primary GI lymphoma differ significantly from other GI malignancies and even lymphoma of other primary sites.

Prognostic assessment and treatment of primary gastric lymphomas: how endoscopic ultrasonography can help in tailoring patient management

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) has recently gained a pivotal role in the management of gastric lymphomas, especially in the diagnostic workup. Its accuracy and reliability have overcome those of other imaging techniques, such that it represents an invaluable tool for the management of gastric lymphomas. Although this technique is operator dependent, its application in large series has proved its reliability. Thus, it has generally been considered a useful tool for providing information crucial in deciding the treatment program, especially for mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphomas, for which EUS can provide an accurate evaluation of disease extension and treatment response probability. Limited-stage disease, confined to the submucosa, has a greater probability to respond to sole Helicobacter pylori eradication. In contrast, the value of EUS in response assessment and follow-up monitoring is still debated, with discordant opinions about its reliability and clinical advantages, because normalization of the EUS findings occurs with a considerable delay compared to the histologic evaluation. In the follow-up setting, preliminary data have indicated that persistently positive EUS findings in low-grade gastric lymphoma could represent a warning for a possible relapse. However, in high-grade gastric lymphoma, such findings do not have any clinical implications.

Colorectal lymphoma

Extranodal lymphomas account for a third of all cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma with the gastrointestinal tract being the most common extranodal site. The most common location is the stomach followed by the small intestine, colon and rectum. Colorectal lymphomas are rare and comprise 10-20% of all gastrointestinal lymphomas and only 1% of all colorectal malignancies. Presenting symptoms include abdominal pain, weight loss, and anorexia. Diagnosis depends on the clinical setting with elective cases being diagnosed with colonoscopy and emergent cases being diagnosed in the operating room. Colonic lymphomas are frequently located proximal to the hepatic flexure. Management depends on the aggressiveness of the lymphoma subtype. Indolent tumors, which are resistant to standard chemotherapeutic regimens, are treated with surgical resection. Aggressive lymphoma subtypes are managed with chemotherapy and surgery with late-stage disease patients being referred to clinical trials.

The management of primary small bowel and colon lymphoma--a review

AIMS

The management of primary small bowel and colon lymphoma is controversial. A review of the literature was therefore undertaken to evaluate the evidence for the classification, staging, diagnosis, and treatment of primary small bowel and colon lymphoma and guide management.

METHODS

A literature search was performed utilising Embase, Medline, and Pubmed and papers were evaluated on an individual basis.

RESULTS

Consensus opinion favours the WHO classification scheme and the TNM staging systems for primary small bowel and colon lymphoma. CT enteroclysis and barium enterolysis are recommended for the diagnosis of primary small bowel lymphoma and capsule endoscopy and double-balloon enteroscopy maybe useful diagnostic tools. In terms of the diagnosis and staging of primary colonic lymphoma, the evidence is scarce and CT is to be recommended. The mainstay of treatment for primary GI lymphoma is surgery and/or chemotherapy. For primary small bowel and colonic lymphoma, there was no definitive evidence regarding the benefits of either strategy; however, chemotherapy seemed to give a survival benefit over surgery alone for primary small bowel lymphoma and colonic lymphoma was skewed towards surgery plus chemotherapy due to the large number of patients presenting as an emergency.

CONCLUSION

Published data regarding the management of primary small bowel and colon lymphoma is very limited. Classification and staging should be standardised to enable accurate evaluation of investigations and treatments and a large RCT undertaken to compare chemotherapy and surgery. Currently, we would recommend that management should involve chemotherapy with surgery reserved for those with clinical indication.

Anaplastic large cell lymphoma of the esophagus in a pediatric patient

We report a 3-year-old boy who initially presented with abdominal pain and was subsequently found to have an esophageal perforation. The child did not respond to conservative management, and subsequent lymphadenopathy led to a lymph node biopsy demonstrating an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)+ anaplastic large cell lymphoma. Esophageal perforation and thickening is most commonly seen in children with a history of esophageal intervention or foreign body/caustic ingestion. Esophageal involvement in children with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has not, to our knowledge, been reported in the literature. This case illustrates an unusual presentation of pediatric NHL.

Extranodal manifestations of lymphoma on [¹⁸F]FDG-PET/CT: a pictorial essay

Lymphoma is the seventh most common type of malignancy in both sexes. It is a neoplastic proliferation of lymphoid cells at various stages of differentiation and affects lymph nodes with infiltration into the bone marrow, spleen and thymus. However, extra nodal involvement is frequently seen in many cases. With the development of dedicated positron emission tomography (PET) scanners with fused computed tomographic (CT) systems in the same gantry, [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET/CT has become a major tool in the evaluation of lymphomas and it is inimitable in certain situations such as assessment of response to therapy. Extranodal lymphoma can present with diverse manifestations and sometimes mimics other organ-related pathologies. Knowledge of the protean manifestations of extranodal lymphoma is required to accurately detect the disease and differentiate it from the various physiologic and benign causes of FDG uptake in various organs. We present a case series of extranodal involvement of histologically proven cases of lymphomas detected on FDG-PET/CT at our institute to demonstrate the challenges in interpretation of extranodal lymphoma.

Extranodal lymphoma from head to toe: part 2, the trunk and extremities

OBJECTIVE

Lymphoma can affect virtually every tissue in the body, producing a variety of imaging appearances. In this article, the extranodal manifestations of this disease in the trunk and extremities are illustrated and the imaging features that aid in the diagnosis are reviewed.

CONCLUSION

Knowledge of the imaging appearances of extranodal lymphoma can aid the differential diagnosis of mass lesions encountered in tissues throughout the body on different imaging modalities.

CT mimics of peritoneal carcinomatosis

Peritoneal carcinomatosis is a term used to describe widespread metastases of cancerous tumors in the peritoneal cavity. It is most common in carcinomas of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and ovaries, and must be considered to be the main diagnosis even when the primary is not known. A wide variety of disease processes mimic peritoneal carcinomatosis. Precise diagnosis based on imaging alone is often difficult and very often the final diagnosis is only obtained after appropriate histopathology or microbiology.

Small bowel intussusception due to a primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. An unusual presentation and clinical course

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE

Adult intussusception is a rare clinical entity accounting for 5% of all intussusceptions. Symptoms and signs are often vague and non-specific making a preoperative diagnosis difficult. The purpose of this study is to present a rare case of a jejuno-jejunal intussusception due to primary intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a patient with an unusual clinical course.

METHODS

A 78-year-old man presented with a 1-month history of abdominal pain, nausea, epigastric fullness, and weight loss. Computed tomography scan and ultrasonography findings were suggestive of small bowel intussusception.

RESULTS

Laparotomy revealed a jejuno-jejunal intussusception caused by a primary B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 20 cm distal to the ligament of Treitz. Resection without prior reduction was performed. The patient refused postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy. Seven months later, he presented with upper gastrointestinal bleeding, and the diagnostic evaluation revealed gastric infiltration of large B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Despite chemotherapy, he died of disseminated progressive disease 7 months later.

CONCLUSIONS

Adult jejuno-jejunal intussusception due to primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma is a rare clinical entity. A high index of suspicion is needed as symptoms and signs are not pathognomonic. Appropriate investigations can lead to a prompt preoperative diagnosis. Resection without prior reduction is the treatment of choice. Our patient's refusal of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy likely resulted in relapse of the disease in another part of the gastrointestinal tract.

Primary gastrointestinal lymphoma

Gastrointestinal tract is the most common extranodal site involved by lymphoma with the majority being non-Hodgkin type. Although lymphoma can involve any part of the gastrointestinal tract, the most frequent sites in order of its occurrence are the stomach followed by small intestine and ileocecal region. Gastrointestinal tract lymphoma is usually secondary to the widespread nodal diseases and primary gastrointestinal tract lymphoma is relatively rare. Gastrointestinal lymphomas are usually not clinically specific and indistinguishable from other benign and malignant conditions. Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most common pathological type of gastrointestinal lymphoma in essentially all sites of the gastrointestinal tract, although recently the frequency of other forms has also increased in certain regions of the world. Although some radiological features such as bulky lymph nodes and maintenance of fat plane are more suggestive of lymphoma, they are not specific, thus mandating histopathological analysis for its definitive diagnosis. There has been a tremendous leap in the diagnosis, staging and management of gastrointestinal lymphoma in the last two decades attributed to a better insight into its etiology and molecular aspect as well as the knowledge about its critical signaling pathways.

Imaging of malignant neoplasms of the mesenteric small bowel: new trends and perspectives

This article describes the recent advances in radiological imaging of malignant neoplasms of the mesenteric small bowel and provides an outline of new trends and perspectives that can be anticipated. The introduction of multidetector row technology, which allows the acquisition of submillimeter and isotropic voxels, has dramatically improved the capabilities of computed tomography in the investigation of the mesenteric small bowel. This technology combined with optimal filling of small bowel loops through the use of appropriate enteral contrast agents has markedly changed small bowel imaging. Computed tomography-enteroclysis, which is based on direct infusion of enteral contrast agent into the mesenteric small bowel through a naso-jejunal tube, provides optimal luminal distension. By contrast, computed tomography-enterography is based on oral administration of enteral contrast agent. These two techniques are now well-established ones for the detection and the characterization of small bowel neoplasms. During the same time, combining the advantages of unsurpassed soft tissue contrast and lack of ionizing radiation, magnetic resonance imaging has gained wide acceptance for the evaluation of patients with suspected small bowel neoplasms. Rapid magnetic resonance imaging sequences used in combination with specific enteral contrast agents generate superb images of the mesenteric small bowel so that magnetic resonance-enteroclysis and magnetic resonance-enterography are now considered as effective diagnostic tools for both the detection and the characterization of neoplasms of the mesenteric small bowel. Recent improvements in image post-processing capabilities help obtain realistic three-dimensional representations of tumors and virtual enteroscopic views of the small bowel that are useful for the surgeon and the gastroenteroenteologist to plan surgical or endoscopic interventions. Along with a better knowledge of the potential and limitations of wireless capsule endoscopy and new endoscopic techniques, these recent developments in radiological imaging reasonably suggest that substantial changes in the investigation of small bowel tumors may be anticipated in a near future, thus potentially create a new paradigm shift after standard small bowel follow-through study has been universally abandoned.

Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma: multimodality imaging and histopathologic correlation

OBJECTIVE

We will illustrate the imaging features of gastrointestinal and nongastrointestinal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma and their correlation with histopathologic findings. The radiologic features to distinguish gastrointestinal MALT lymphoma from other types of lymphomas will also be described.

CONCLUSION

Differences in clinical behavior and management make it exceedingly important to differentiate MALT lymphoma from other types of lymphomas. Radiologic and histopathologic findings need to be taken into account before making a diagnosis and treatment plan.

[Imaging of gastrointestinal stromal tumors]

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) arising from interstitial cells of Cajal, represent the first type of solid tumor, which is very sensitive to a specific molecularly targeted tyrosine kinase receptor blocker (i. e., imatinib). On CT, which is considered as the reference technique, GISTs typically present as large, well-delineated, heterogeneous and sometimes exophytic masses. In contrast with the absence of lymph node involvement, hepatic metastasis as well as mesenteric involvement can be observed. MR-enteroclysis is indicated to investigate the local extent of the disease in specific cases whereas MR imaging is used to detect hepatic metastasis. Because of a specific treatment, contrast-enhanced imaging is needed for the follow-up of treated tumors. Evaluation of tumor response to treatment is best assessed with CT which still remains the reference imaging technique whereas FDG-PET imaging is used in specific cases.

Enteroscopy and its relationship to radiological small bowel imaging

The field of radiological small bowel imaging is changing rapidly, as is small bowel enteroscopy. New techniques allow the depiction of intraluminal, mural, and extraintestinal features of various small bowel disorders, such as Crohn disease, small bowel polyposis syndromes, small intestinal malignancies, and celiac disease. For patients requiring repeated small bowel imaging, modalities that do not use ionizing radiation, such as ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging, should be considered.