The diagnosis of primary small intestinal lymphoma by CT

Objective: To evaluate the value of CT in diagnosing primary small intestinal lymphoma. Methods: CT features of 11 cases of primary small intestinal non-Hodgkin's lymphomas were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The most frequent location of the diseases were at ileum (10/11). According to the main CT features from all 11 cases, it could be classified into two types: bowel-wall thickening type (n = 7) and luminal polypoid mass type (n=4). 5 of 7 cases in the first type showed aneurysmal sign, while 3 of 4 cases in the second type were combined with intussusception. 7 cases from the two types were found to have mesenteric lymph nodes enlargement, among them 1 case showed 'sandwich' sign, 4 showed long-range or multicentric intestinal lesions. The tumor detection rate was 81.8%, and the correct diagnosis rate was 83.6% by CT. Conclusion: Bowel-wall thickening and luminal polypoid mass were two different types of CT features in the primary small intestinal lymphoma, and polymorphic lesions accompanied by multifocal mesenteric lymph nodes enlargement, aneurysmal sign, 'sandwich' sign, long-range or multicentric intestine lesions were the main characteristic CT features, which may lead to the correct diagnosis by CT