Cross-Sectional Imaging Findings of Atypical Liver Malignancies and Diagnostic Pitfalls: Emphasis on Computed Tomography, and Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

Atypical liver malignancies can either be uncommon presentations of commonly encountered liver malignancies or rare tumors infrequently seen in clinical practice and often pose a challenge in diagnostic imaging interpretation. These lesions tend to be highly variable in their imaging appearance and are less well discussed in the literature. Commonly, an inter-disciplinary approach incorporating clinical information, imaging data, and histopathology is needed to reach an accurate diagnosis. The diagnostic radiologist's knowledge of such liver malignancies can aid the clinical team in reaching the correct diagnosis and enabling appropriate management. In this article, we review certain technical considerations and focus on the unusual appearances of common primary and secondary malignant liver lesions, uncommon malignant liver lesions, with emphasis on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).