Significance of the preoperative guidance of dual-source CT in carotid body tumor

Background Accurate views of the head and neck vessels, tumor angiogenesis and the relationship of tumor and the surrounding blood vessels are especially crucial to carotid body tumor (CBT) patients. The aim of this study was to explore the value of dual-source CT (DSCT) cerebral and carotid angiography in CBT diagnosis.Methods DSCT cerebral and carotid angiography was performed on nine patients with CBT. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional reconstruction images were obtained by means of multiple planar reconstructions (MPR),maximum intensity projection (MIP) and volume rendering (VR). All patients were subjected to color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) examination. Two kinds of examinations were performed in 3 days, and all patients were confirmed by surgery.Results DSCT angiography was successful in all patients. CBTs were diagnosed in 9 patients with 10 lesions (1 case had multiple bilateral CBTs). The largest lesion was 12 cm in diameter, and the smallest one was 1.6 cm in diameter. All patients had clearly demonstrated head and neck vessels, tumor angiogenesis, and tumor relationship with the surrounding blood vessels. The internal and external carotid artery (ICA, ECA) were involved in 2 cases. There were 7 cases with basilar artery ring integrity, and 1 case had the posterior communicating artery absent; 1 case had middle cerebral artery stenosis; 4 cases (4 tumors) showed arterial phase homogeneous enhancement; 5 cases (6 tumors) had obvious heterogeneous enhancement where irregular low-density necrosis could be seen in the tumors. CDFI could demonstrate the nearby blood vessels and tumor structure, instead of tumor angiogenesis. However, DSCT can display both the tumor and the peripheral vascular tumor angiogenesis consistent with surgical findings.Conclusions DSCT cerebral and carotid angiography can provide reliable information for the operation. It might be a valuable CBT diagnostic method by showing accurate views of the CBT along with the bilateral neck and brain blood vessels.