Monitoring and final staging of abdominal hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma - comparative CT and PET/CT study

Full text: Non-Hodgkin and Hodgkin lymphomas frequently involve many structures in the abdomen and pelvis. Extranodal disease is more common with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma than with Hodgkin's lymphoma. Extranodal lymphoma has been described in virtually every organ and tissue. In decreasing order of frequency, the spleen, liver, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas, abdominal wall, genitourinary tract, adrenal, kidneys, peritoneal cavity, and biliary tract are involved. The purpose of this review is to illustrate the spectrum of imaging findings of extranodal lymphoma in the abdominal region, to discuss the differential diagnosis of lymphomatous involvement of the different abdominal structures, to review the key imaging findings that enable the differentiation of extranodal lymphoma from other benign and malignant diseases. Extranodal lymphoma in the abdomen can mimic other neoplastic or inflammatory conditions. Although a definitive diagnosis is possible only with biopsy, it is important to consider extranodal lymphoma in the presence of certain imaging appearances in the appropriate clinical setting for the correct diagnosis, accurate staging, and optimal management