Compressibility of gastrointestinal tract tumors during transabdominal sonographic examination: a clue to the diagnosis of gastrointestinal lymphoma.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the use of sonography in the assessment of compressibility of the affected bowel in the differential diagnosis of gastrointestinal (GI) lymphoma.


METHODS
Thirty-two cases of advanced gastric cancer, 28 cases of advanced colon cancer, 7 cases of gastric lymphoma, and 6 cases of colon lymphoma were included in the study. To assess the compressibility of the affected bowel, a transducer was used to exert external compression. Deformation of the tumor and its lumen by compression was considered to indicate positive compressibility.


RESULTS
Compressibility was absent in advanced gastric and colon cancer but was present in 11/13 (85%) cases of GI lymphoma. In the diagnosis of GI lymphoma, compressibility showed 85% (11/13) sensitivity, 97% (58/60) specificity, and 95% (69/73) overall accuracy.


CONCLUSIONS
Compressibility of the affected bowel is a useful clue in the diagnosis of GI lymphoma.
Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Jichi Medical University School of Medicine, Yakushiji 3311-1, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498, Japan.
Yasutomo
Y
Fujii
Nobuyuki
N
Taniguchi
Harumi
H
Koibuchi
Yoshikazu
Y
Yasuda
Hideo
H
Nagai
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010173:Palpation / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014463:Ultrasonography