The lymphogram in abdominal tuberculosis

Lymphograms of 11 patients with histologically proven abdominal tuberculosis have been assessed in an attempt to define a typical pattern of appearance in retroperitoneal lymph glands. Glandular enlargement, poor glandular filling and lymphovascular obstruction were present. A gradient of abnormality with more marked adenopathy in the upper para-aortic chain extending to a lesser involvement below in the iliac chain was demonstrated in keeping with a retrograde spread of the tuberculosis process from the abdominal lymphatics cauded along the retroperitoneal chain. Lymphography may be valuable in cases where data from clinical observations and routine radiological studies is inconclusive in cases of vague abdominal disease.     

Lymphoscintigraphy and lymphedema of the lower extremities

Lymphoscintigraphy, using technetium-99m-labeled sulphur microcolloid, was employed to study the flow and transport of lymph in the lower extremities of 39 consecutive patients in whom lymphedema of one or both legs was suspected clinically. Time-activity curves of four segments of each leg were evaluated for lymph capacity, flow and soft-tissue uptake, and compared with the results from film scintigraphy. Curve analysis provided quantitative evaluation of the extent of hypoplasia or aplasia in primary lymphedema and of lymphatic obstruction in secondary lymphedema, and is particularly suited to assess the involvement of lymphatics in chronic venous disease. Film scintigraphy, on the other hand, is preferable in cases in which the pattern of activity distribution in the affected extremity is diagnostic, such as in dermal back flow, traumatic lymphocele, or megalymphatics. Venography is most informative in cases of suspected underlying venous disease, but the role of lymphangiography, which shows only part of the lymphatic system and requires incision of the edematous tissues, is considered questionable.     

Hepatic perivascular lymphedema: CT appearance

The CT appearance of dilated hepatic lymphatics in liver transplant recipients has been described recently. We have observed similar findings of presumed hepatic lymphatic dilatation and perivascular lymphedema in 20 patients seen over an 8-month period, none of whom had received a liver transplant. Review of these patients' records showed that 18 (90%) of 20 had underlying disease processes that could have caused dilated lymphatics as a result of either increased lymph flow or lymphatic obstruction. We have grouped these processes into three etiologic categories: (1) posttraumatic hepatic lymphatic obstruction, (2) obstruction caused by malignant lymphadenopathy, and (3) congestive hepatomegaly caused by cardiac decompensation. The appearance of hepatic lymphatic dilatation and surrounding lymphedema needs to be recognized so that lymphatic dilatation is not mistaken for dilated intrahepatic bile ducts.     

Scintigraphic visualization of an epigastric sentinel node in recurrent breast cancer after lumpectomy and postoperative radiation therapy

Sentinel node imaging and biopsy have become standard procedures for staging early breast cancer. Positive sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy necessitates the need for axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). Failure to visualize a sentinel lymph node in recurrent breast cancer after treatment by surgery, chemotherapy, and high-dose postoperative radiation therapy is almost the case in every patient. The reason for failure to visualize the sentinel node is the fibrosis that follows high-dose radiotherapy and blocks the lymphatics preventing spread of the tumor cells to the lymph nodes. Alternative pathways for the drainage of lymph from the breast are developed in these patients. We have previously reported on the alternative pathways of lymphatics to the contralateral axilla, supraclavicular area, and also reported on the development of intramammary lymph nodes. In this report, we are presenting another alternative pathway of lymphatics to the region of the epigastrium below the lower end of the sternum.     

Musculoskeletal sporotrichosis

Sporotrichosis is a chronic, indolent, fungal infection that rarely involves the musculoskeletal system. The etiologic agent, Sporothrix schenckii, is ubiquitous in nature and has been isolated from soil, timber, decaying vegetation, and a variety of foliage. The organism gains entrance to the body through trauma to the skin or, in rare instances, by inhalation. The vast majority of infections in humans is characterized by nodular or ulcerated lesions of the cutaneous tissues and adjacent lymphatics. Osteoarticular involvement may occur either by contiguous spread from a cutaneous focus, through direct inoculation of tissue by the organism, or by hematogenous dissemination. The rarity of musculoskeletal sporotrichosis often causes a delay in diagnosis which leads to inappropriate therapy and permanent deformity in some patients. Three cases which show a spectrum of bone and joint involvement are presented.     

Perineural tumor spread along the auriculotemporal nerve

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Evaluation of images of perineural tumor spread in patients with head and neck malignancies is essential for planning treatment and determining the patient's prognosis. Although the communications between the facial and trigeminal nerves are not widely known, they may provide a route for tumor growth. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the course of the auriculotemporal nerve, as well as the clinical and imaging findings that suggest involvement of the communication between the facial nerve and the mandibular division (V(3)) of the trigeminal nerve. METHODS: Images in 15 patients with clinical or radiologic findings suggestive of perineural tumor spread along the auriculotemporal nerve were reviewed. Involvement of the main trunk of the facial nerve, auriculotemporal nerve, V(3), trigeminal cistern, and ganglion and adjacent anatomic structures were noted in each patient. RESULTS: The course of the auriculotemporal nerve was described in detail. More than 50% of patients with perineural tumor spread along the auriculotemporal nerve had clinical signs of auriculotemporal nerve dysfunction, including periauricular pain and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction or tenderness. Images in 13 of 15 patients with such tumor spread demonstrated findings of tumor growth along V(3.). CONCLUSION: Knowledge of the course of the auriculotemporal nerve is critical in evaluating images for findings of tumor spread along this nerve. Periauricular pain, TMJ dysfunction or tenderness, and imaging signs of V(3) involvement are important indicators of potential involvement of the auriculotemporal nerve.     

Autonomic regulation of lymphatic flow in the lower extremity demonstrated on lymphoscintigraphy in patients with reflex sympathetic dystrophy.

PURPOSE: Nuclear medicine techniques were used to show that the peripheral lymphatics are under autonomic control in much the same way as the blood vessels that supply the same anatomic region. METHODS: Three patients with complex regional pain syndrome type 1 (reflex sympathetic dystrophy) involving a lower extremity were evaluated using three-phase bone scintigraphy and peripheral lymphoscintigraphy. Each patient was treated with ipsilateral chemical lumbar sympathectomy, and lymphoscintigraphy was repeated within several days of the procedure. RESULTS: All three patients had evidence of decreased flow (compared with the contralateral extremity) to normal flow after ipsilateral sympathectomy. Bone scintigraphy, before and after sympathectomy, was difficult to interpret because of the effects of altered weight bearing. Two patients who had unilateral peripheral edema showed marked improvement after sympathectomy and increased lymphatic flow. CONCLUSIONS: Peripheral lymphatic function is controlled by the autonomic nervous system. In reflex sympathetic dystrophy, peripheral edema may be caused by an increased sympathetic stimulus to the lymphatics. Further study of this phenomenon may show that nuclear medicine studies, such as bone scintigraphy and lymphoscintigraphy, can be used to distinguish patients who will benefit from sympathectomy from those who will not, thereby obviating invasive testing and unnecessary invasive treatment.     

Case reports on the importance of the locoregional radiotherapy of Merkel cell tumor]

The Merkel cell tumor is becoming an increasingly diagnosed primary neoplasm of the skin. This subepidermal tumor is commonly located on the head and neck or extremities of elderly patients. Occasionally misinterpreted as cutaneous metastases, they show a high rate of local recurrence (27 to 52%) and distant metastatic spread (18 to 52%). The definitive diagnosis can be made with immunohistochemistry. Wide surgical excision with postoperative irradiation to the local site and regional lymphatics is the therapy of choice. In seven patients we describe management strategies and discuss their clinical results.     

MR imaging findings and patterns of spread in secondary tumor involvement of the uterine body and cervix

OBJECTIVE: Our study sought to describe the MR imaging features and the patterns of spread in secondary tumor involvement of the uterus by nonuterine tumors. CONCLUSION: Direct extension of an adjacent tumor to the uterus is the most common pattern of secondary tumor involvement. Concomitant invasion of other pelvic organs is also typical. Although less common, hematogenous or lymphatic metastases to the uterus are encountered in clinical practice. Metastases should be added to the differential diagnosis of apparently malignant masses in the uterine body or cervix, especially in patients with metastatic disease or in patients whose uterus shows a preserved shape with involvement by an infiltrative heterogeneously enhancing process.     

Radionuclide lymphangioscintigraphy in the evaluation of peripheral lymphedema

PURPOSE: The primary difficulty in evaluating and treating peripheral lymphedema is visualization of the lymphatics. Functional lymphatic studies have been performed on patients with peripheral edema to diagnose lymphedema, to determine its severity, and to understand the varied drainage patterns. METHODS: After intradermal injection in the hands or feet, initial flow and whole-body images were taken using Tc-99m human serum albumin in more than 700 patients with possible lymphedema. RESULTS: Clear images of truncal lymph transport and draining lymph nodes were obtained, and pattern differences between primary and secondary lymphedema were seen. Follow-up studies showed any functional change in lymphatic dynamics. CONCLUSION: Peripheral lymphatics can now be easily visualized. Because lymphangioscintigraphy can be performed before and after medical treatment, follow-up evaluation of patients with lymphedema is possible. The procedure is noninvasive, repeatable, easy to perform, and harmless to the lymphatic endothelium.     

Biliary carcinoma: CT evaluation of extrahepatic spread

The authors studied the computed tomographic (CT) images obtained in 56 patients with pathologically proved biliary cancer and 75 patients with no evidence of biliary disease, attempting to define the normal anatomy of the lymphatic system draining the bile ducts and the prevalence of extrahepatic spread of primary biliary cancer into these retroperitoneal planes. Of 20 patients with gallbladder cancer, 14 (70%) had proved adenopathy and nine (45%) had peritoneal spread at presentation, and another three later developed carcinomatosis. Of 22 patients with proximal cholangiocarcinoma, 16 (73%) had nodal involvement at presentation, four later developed adenopathy, and five had peritoneal dissemination. Distal or diffuse cholangiocarcinomas were less associated with metastatic nodes or peritoneal spread. For all biliary cancers, the nodes most commonly involved were the node of the foramen of Winslow, the superior pancreatoduodenal node, and the posterior pancreatoduodenal chain. Extrahepatic tumor spread produced proximal intestinal obstruction in 13 patients (23%). CT reliably demonstrates lymphatic or other extrahepatic spread of biliary cancers, which may have an important bearing on management decisions.     

Pulmonary infarction associated with bronchogenic carcinoma

Computed tomography findings of pathologically proven pulmonary infarction associated with bronchogenic carcinoma are reported for two patients. In one case, the infarction was demonstrated as a well-defined pleura-based large nodule in the peripheral portion of the same lobe of the tumor. The nodule had a smooth, convex border and a linear strand from the apex of the lesion toward the hilum. The obstruction of the subsegmental pulmonary artery due to tumor invasion was considered the cause of pulmonary infarction. In the second case, the infarction was demonstrated as a rapidly appeared, pleura-based consolidation in the same lobe of the tumor with a blurred border. Obstruction of the pulmonary vein by a tumor might have played an important role in the development of the pulmonary infarction in association with a large pulmonary artery obstruction. We conclude that pulmonary infarction should be considered as a differential diagnosis when peripheral pulmonary nodules or masses are located in the same lobe as the primary cancer.     

Radiation necrosis versus glioma recurrence: conventional MR imaging clues to diagnosis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Conventional MR imaging findings are considered to be inadequate for reliably distinguishing radiation necrosis from tumor recurrence in patients with glioma. Despite this belief, we hypothesized that certain conventional MR imaging findings, alone or in combination, though not definitive, may favor one or another of these diagnoses in proton beam-treated patients with new enhancing lesions on serial scanning. METHODS: MR imaging findings (axial T1-, T2-, and post-gadolinium T1-weighted) of 27 proton beam radiation therapy patients with high-grade gliomas were retrospectively reviewed. Entry criteria included new MR imaging enhancing lesions after treatment and histologically unequivocal biopsy proof of diagnosis. Readers rated corpus callosum involvement, midline spread, subependymal spread, new discrete multiple enhancing foci, a "spreading wavefront" appearance, and septum pellucidum involvement. Statistical analysis was by the Fisher exact test. RESULTS: Corpus callosum involvement in combination with multiple other findings was highly associated with progressive glioma. These combinations included involvement of the corpus callosum with multiple enhancing foci (P = .02), involvement of the corpus callosum with crossing the midline and multiple enhancing lesions (P = .04), and involvement of the corpus callosum with subependymal spread and multiple enhancing lesions (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: In proton beam-treated patients with glioma, corpus callosum involvement, in conjunction with multiple enhancing lesions with or without crossing of the midline and subependymal spread, favors predominant glioma progression. Overall, combinations of enhancement patterns were more likely than individual patterns to distinguish necrosis from predominant tumor progression. Together with clinical and functional imaging findings, these results may assist in determining the need for biopsy.     

MR signal intensity changes in hepatic parenchyma with ductal dilation caused by intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

MR images of the liver in 13 patients with surgically proven intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma were reviewed retrospectively and correlated to the histologic analysis of surgical specimens. We paid special attention to the peripheral liver tissue with ductal dilation but without tumorous involvement. High signal intensity was observed in the hepatic parenchyma with ductal dilation on T1-weighted spin-echo images (8 of 12) and spoiled gradient-recalled echo images (seven of seven), as compared with the contralateral hepatic lobe without duct dilation. The high signal intensity was not suppressed with fat saturation and showed enhancement after administration of contrast (11 of 12). Concurrent portal venous obstruction did not have significant effect on these findings (P < .05). Correlation with pathologic specimens suggested that this enhancement was associated with periportal fibrosis. The etiology of the high signal intensity on unenhanced spin echo or gradient-recalled T1-weighted image remains unclear. Radiologists should recognize these findings and should distinguish these from tumor involvement or the arterial buffer response caused by portal venous obstruction.     

The echogenic focus in prostatic sonograms, with xeroradiographic and histopathologic correlation

The sonograms of 42 patients scanned before and after radical prostatectomy were reviewed, giving specific attention to echogenic foci. All patients had clinical stage A or B adenocarcinoma of the prostate. Comparison of the scans with xeroradiographic and histopathologic studies showed all echogenic foci, with or without acoustic shadowing, to represent prostatic calcifications. Calcifications were located in the central portion of the gland exclusively, either immediately adjacent to the urethra or at the margins of the "internal gland", separate from the peripheral location of small tumors. With carcinomatous spread toward the urethra, calculi were found surrounded by tumor. This was considered a result of secondary involvement rather than dystrophic tumor calcification. Prostatic calcifications seem unrelated to the development of adenocarcinoma but must be recognized to prevent erroneous interpretation.     

Lymphangitic carcinomatosis: lung scan abnormalities.

Lymphangitic carcinomatosis of the lung is a late and fatal manifestation of cancer. The diagnosis is seldom made ante mortem. Four patients with breast cancer had autopsy-proven lymphangitic metastases of the lung. Of these patients, two had normal chest x-rays and three had normal ventilation lung scans. The perfusion lung scans of all four showed irregular peripheral perfusion defects. Autopsies showed permeation of the lymphatics by tumor and tumor emboli in small arteries and arterioles.     

Magnetic resonance tomography (MRT) in bronchial cancer

Comparative studies were made of 47 patients suffering from histologically and cytologically confirmed bronchial carcinoma, using CT and MRT respectively. CT examinations were performed before and after intravenous administration of contrast medium, whereas the MR examinations were conducted via EEG-triggered T1 and T2 marked SE sequences in the axial and coronary planes. Both methods were assessed in respect of tumour visualisation and documentation of tumour spread. Staging of tumour and lymph nodes yielded largely concurring results for CT and MRT. Exceptions were seen in 7 of 10 patients with malignant involvement of the pericardium and in 3 of 27 patients with lymph node metastases located mediastinally and subcarinally where only MRT showed a positive involvement of the pericardium or lymph nodes (with possible consequences for the staging of the tumour or lymph nodes). Decisive advantages of MRT compared with CT were seen in the identification of infiltration of the aortic-wall, in the differentiation of the poststenotic syndrome, in the visualisation of the thoracic wall infiltration and functional information on blood flow rate in upper venolus obstruction caused by a carcinoma.     

Hepatic arteriography under temporary hepatic venous occlusion]

Hepatic arteriography with and without temporary segmental hepatic vein occlusion was performed in 10 patients, five of whom had chronic liver injury. Hepatic arteriograms obtained during hepatic venous obstruction demonstrated significantly more peripheral and definite arterial branches in the occluded area and fewer peripheral branches in the non-occluded segment. A prolonged, dense hepatogram (sinusoidogram) showing hepatofugal opacification of the portal vein was obtained in the occluded area. Only one case with a large veno-venous anastomosis did not show these findings. Hepatic arteriograms in two cases with hepatocellular carcinoma provided clear visualization of peripheral portal branches that could act as efferent tumor vessels during regional temporary hepatic vein occlusion. Temporary hepatic venous occlusion may cause a sudden increase of hepatic arterial flow in the occluded area and transsinusoidal arterioportal communication there. This method can be useful for the diagnosis and arterial infusion or embolization therapy of hepatic diseases.     

Selection and Delineation of Lymph Node Target Volume for Lung Cancer Conformal Radiotherapy Proposal for Standardizing Terminology Based on Surgical Experience

PURPOSE: To select and delineate the target volumes for definitive or postoperative radiotherapy for lung cancer. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The lymphatics of the lung and the dissemination of tumor cells to the intra- and extrathoracic lymph nodes are described. The incidence of involvement of the different lymph node sites in the chest is analyzed. The involvement of the contralateral hilar and/or supraclavicular lymph nodes and the consequences for target volume selection for curative radiotherapy are discussed. CT-based nodal classification and distribution of lymph nodes in the chest in CT-axial slices are presented. The sentinel node concept (SNC) and the preliminary data available for lung cancer are described. RESULTS: A critical review of the current TNM classification for lung cancer and the implications for target volume selection is given. The individual target volume selection and delineation have to be based on clinical and pathological data from large surgical. studies and upon the individual pathological and diagnostic patient data. The selection and delineation of the clinical target volumes for definitive and for postoperative radiotherapy, dependent on the lymph node involvement, are presented. CONCLUSIONS: Criteria for the selection and delineation of the clinical target volumes for definitive and for postoperative conformal radiotherapy in axial CT slices under consideration of site, size and stage of the lung cancer are described. Recommendations for target volume selection for definitive or postoperative radiotherapy are presented.     

Small-bowel obstruction masking synchronous large-bowel obstruction: a need for emergency barium enema

Synchronous obstruction of large and small bowel may be missed radiologically and even at laparotomy when the small-bowel obstruction masks the large-bowel obstruction. The five patients reported illustrate this problem. It can only be diagnosed in certain patients by barium enema after small-bowel obstruction has been shown on plain radiographs. In four patients, this was especially applicable: patients with known or suspected abdominopelvic malignancy with loops of small bowel and pelvic colon involved by either tumor spread or irradiation fibrosis after treatment. One patient had ischemic strictures manifesting rather unusually in this manner.