Purpose
To investigate differential imaging features of intra-abdominal desmoid tumors and peritoneal seeding in patients with history of cancer surgery.
Methods
Thirty-two patients who had a single pathologically proven intra-peritoneal lesion that developed after cancer surgery were enrolled between January 2000 and June 2019. There were 16 desmoid tumors and 16 peritoneal seeding lesions. Portal phase CT and/or 18F-FDG PET findings were analyzed by two radiologists in consensus for the following items: location, size, shape, margin, contour, homogeneity, necrosis, adjacent organ invasion, calcification, intra-lesional fat, peritoneal infiltration, mass effect, and degree of enhancement. Hounsfield units (HU) and maximum standardized uptake values (SUVmax) of the lesions were measured. Imaging findings were compared using the Chi square test, Fisher’s exact test, and student t test.
Results
Desmoid tumors frequently showed well-defined margins (9/16) and smooth contours (12/16), whereas peritoneal seeding had ill-defined margins (13/16) and lobulated contours (11/16) (P = 0.028 and 0.013, respectively). Intra-lesional fat was found more frequently in desmoid tumors (7/16) than peritoneal seeding (1/16) (P = 0.014). Desmoid tumors showed iso-attenuation (13/16) compared to psoas muscle in portal phase, while peritoneal seeding depicted high attenuation (12/16) (P = 0.002). Mean HU was significantly lower in desmoid tumors (64.3) than peritoneal seeding lesions (95.1) (P = 0.001). However, the mean SUVmax of desmoid tumors (4.1) did not significantly differ from peritoneal seeding lesions (5.2) (P = 0.519).
Conclusion
Several CT features including iso-attenuation in portal phase and presence of intra-lesional fat can be helpful in differentiating desmoid tumors from peritoneal seeding in patients with history of intra-abdominal cancer surgery.
