AN EVALUATION OF ABDOMINAL CT SCANNING IN INITIAL STAGING OF HODGKINʼS AND NON-HODGKINʼS LYMPHOMA

Abstract

This study is designed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of abdominal CT scanning in Hodgkin's disease (HD) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). We prospectively studied patients with biopsy proven, previously untreated HD and NHL with CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis, both before and after intravenous contrast media. We correlated the results of the CT scans with the histologic findings from biopsies of retroperitoneal and mesenteric lymph nodes, splenectomy specimen, and liver biopsy obtained at staging laparotomy. Data on 58 such patients (as of early 1980) yielded the following results: Lymph Nodes Spleen Liver Retroperitoneal* Mesenteric HD NHL Sensitivity 88% No positive 50% 63% 50% Specificity 83% biopsy in 80% 68% 100% Accuracy 85% 33 patients 60% 65% 97% *Lymphogram results in same patients 94%, 97%, 96%, respectively. We will present updated material on subsequent patients, and discuss the diagnostic problems encountered in staging these diseases with CT scanning. Supported in part by grant CA 05838, NIH, NCI.