Biomedical Letters

Splenic Metastases from Primary Lung Cancer on Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI): A Retrospective Study

Preeti Hamal 1, Xiwen Sun 1*, Yali Wang 1, Huiyuan Zhu 1, Ashish Kumar Pradhan 2

1Department of Radiology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

2Department of Anesthesiology, The Affiliated Zhong Da Hospital of Southeast University, No. 87 Dingjiaqiao, Nanjing, China.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate and identify Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of splenic focal lesions secondary to primary lung cancers. Thirteen patients with lesions to the spleen from primary lung cancer included transverse T1-weighted, spectral presaturation attenuated inversion recovery T2-weighted (SPAIR), post contrast arterial phase, post contrast venous phase images. Sixteen splenic lesions from lung cancer were identified as metastasis; all of the lesions showed a heterogeneous hypointense enhancement to splenic parenchyma on T1-weighted after intravenous contrast MRI and among them two of the patient’s focal lesions were not detected by Computed tomography (CT) and Ultrasonography (USG) but detected by MRI. The primary malignancy included adenocarcinoma (n=6), squamous cell carcinoma (n=3), small cell carcinoma (n=2), squamous adenocarcinoma (n=1) and lung sarcoma (n=1). The majority of the lesions was solitary, with central necrosis, high intensity peripheral rim enhancement and well defined margins along with other abdominal visceral metastases. Splenic metastasis generally presents as a solitary, cystic or necrotic mass, lymphadenopathy and heterogeneous isointense enhancement after contrast on CT and MRI. Imaging findings correlated with clinical findings are sufficient to diagnose splenic metastases from lung cancers.

Keywords: MRI, splenic neoplasms secondary, CT, lung neoplasms/pathology.

Received January 2, 2017 Revised February 18, 2017 Accepted March 7, 2017

*Correspondence: Xiwen Sun Email sunxiwen93938@126.com Contact: +8613816593938 Fax: +86-021-65115006-3089