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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Cancer Imaging and Image-directed Interventions
Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1442674
This article is part of the Research Topic Dynamic Contrast-enhanced Imaging: Technology Progress and Clinical Application in Oncology View all 4 articles

Leiomyosarcomas of the inferior vena cava: diagnostic features on contrast-enhanced CT，ultrasonography and MRI

Provisionally accepted
Xiaolin Xu Xiaolin Xu 1Shilei Zhao Shilei Zhao 2Lifang Xue Lifang Xue 1*
  • 1 Beijing Gobroad Hospital, Beijing, China
  • 2 International Hospital, Peking University, Beijing, Beijing Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Purpose: To evaluate clinical presentation and imaging characteristics of leiomyosarcomas of the inferior vena cava (IVC LMS) using contrast-enhanced CT (CECT), ultrasonography (US), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and to identify features that facilitate early and accurate pre-operative diagnosis.Our study enrolled 21 patients with pathologically confirmed IVC LMS from October 2015 to June 2022. All participants underwent CECT, and additionally, 12 participants had US examinations and 3 had MRI. Images were independently reviewed by two experienced radiologists. The clinical presentations and diagnostic characteristics were recorded.The study involved 16 female and 5 male patients, with an average age of 55 ± 11 years (ranging from 34 to 80 years). Common clinical symptoms included abdominal pain, back pain, leg discomfort, abdominal distension, jaundice, and the presence of an abdominal mass. On CT scans, a large, lobulated, heterogeneous mass with progressive enhancement was typically seen in 13 of the 21 patients (61.9%). Ultrasonography revealed that IVC LMS typically presented as a lobulated, heterogeneous, hypoechoic mass. Color Doppler imaging evaluated lumen obstruction in 8 of the 12 patients (66.7%), and high velocity flow signals were detected by Pulsed wave Doppler in 4 of the 12 patients (33.3%). On MRI, IVC LMS presented as a heterogeneous mass that exhibited intermediate intensity on T1-weighted images, slightly high intensity on T2-weighted images and high intensity on diffusion-weighted images.Several diagnostic characteristics on CECT, US and MRI could aid in the diagnosis of IVC LMS. The detection of a heterogeneous mass with progressive enhancement along the inferior vena cava on CECT was strongly indicative of IVC LMS. Both CT and US are effective in accurately indicating the location of the tumor within the IVC.

    Keywords: CT, Ultrasonography, MRI, leiomyosarcomas, Inferior vena cava

    Received: 02 Jun 2024; Accepted: 14 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Xu, Zhao and Xue. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Lifang Xue, Beijing Gobroad Hospital, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.