Get your full text copy in PDF
Patryk Pozowski, Paula Misiak, Kinga Szymańska, Rafał Mazur, Małgorzata Sierpowska, Jurand Silicki, Milena Celmer, Mateusz Łasecki, Aleksander Pawluś, Urszula Zaleska-Dorobisz
(Department of General and Pediatric Radiology, Wrocław Medical University, Wrocław, Poland)
Am J Case Rep 2020; 21:e924280
DOI: 10.12659/AJCR.924280
BACKGROUND:
Carcinoid tumor is the most frequent neuroendocrine tumor (NET) that causes liver metastases. One of the best methods to assess this type of pathology is magnetic resonance imaging with hepatocyte-specific contrast media with low molecular weight gadolinium chelate Gd-BOPTA. As these lesions do not contain hepatocytes, they present as hypointense on MRI in comparison with liver tissue which enhances this type of contrast.
CASE REPORT:
In this article, we present a case of a 65-year-old female patient who was admitted to the Emergency Department with abdominal pain. Computed tomography revealed a single focal lesion in her liver. The patient underwent further evaluation using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The hepatobiliary phase MRI showed an unspecific homogenous enhancement of the hepatobiliary agent Gd-BOPTA. Since the lesion was interpreted as a non-characteristic lesion, the patient was discharged from the hospital with a recommendation for early follow-up. The follow-up MRI 6 months after discharge disclosed multiple liver metastases.
CONCLUSIONS:
Liver metastases generally demonstrate enhancement of hepatobiliary contrast agents in the T1-weighted hepatocellular phase. Metastasis from a carcinoid tumor may also demonstrate this enhancement.