Abstract
In the appropriate clinical setting, certain aspects of extranodal abdominal lymphoma, as revealed by current cross-sectional imaging techniques, should be considered potentially diagnostic and can hasten the diagnosis. In addition, diagnostic imaging in the context of biopsy-proven lymphoma can accurately stage the disease for its appropriate treatment. The purpose of this article was to illustrate the various imaging aspects of extranodal lymphoma in the abdomen.
Highlights
Extranodal involvement occurs in 40% of patients with lymphoma(1), representing lymphoproliferative disease in various tissues of the lymph nodes, thymus, and tonsils
There is typically no ductal dilatation or significant parenchymal atrophy, even when there is invasion of the pancreatic duct, which supports the hypothesis of lymphoma instead of adenocarcinoma, the main differential diagnosis(5)
The small intestine is the second most common gastrointestinal tract (GIT) site affected by lymphoma, the distal ileum being the segment most often affected
Summary
Extranodal involvement occurs in 40% of patients with lymphoma(1), representing lymphoproliferative disease in various tissues of the lymph nodes, thymus, and tonsils. Lymphomas are classified as primary extranodal when there is no nodal involvement or when there is minimal lymph node involvement and the extranodal component is dominant(2,3) Secondary involvement, such as advanced disease, is significantly more common(1,4). Diffuse infiltration is the most common form of presentation, often resulting in homogeneous splenomegaly, the spleen can be of normal size In such cases, functional imaging methods, such as FDG-PET/CT, facilitate the diagnosis(1). Primary lymphoma of the gallbladder is very rare It manifests as focal or diffuse parietal thickening (Figure 3). There is typically no ductal dilatation or significant parenchymal atrophy, even when there is invasion of the pancreatic duct, which supports the hypothesis of lymphoma instead of adenocarcinoma, the main differential diagnosis(5) When it affects the cranial and intrapancreatic portions of the common bile duct, it can cause bile duct dilatation (Figure 5). Lymphoma and adenocarcinoma can both be accompanied by lymphadenopathy, lymph node enlargement is more extensive in lymphoma
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