Bladder paraganglioma in adults: MR appearance in four patients.
OBJECTIVE
To document the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics of paraganglioma of the urinary bladder in adults.


METHODS
The MRI findings and clinical features of pathologically-proven bladder paraganglioma in four patients (three men, one woman; age range, 39-62 years; mean age, 46.8 years) were reviewed retrospectively. All patients underwent MRI in a 1.5 T instrument. The MRI features of the lesions were analyzed, with emphasis on the size, shape, location, margin, signal intensity, degree of MRI enhancement, and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values.


RESULTS
The bladder paragangliomas were located in the posterior vesicle wall (n=2), in the dome of the bladder wall (n=1), or the inferoanterior wall (n=1). On MR images, the tumors were round (n=1) or oval-shaped (n=3) and all exhibited well-circumscribed margins and broad-based attachment to the bladder wall. On T1-weighted images, the lesions demonstrated homogeneous hyperintensity (n=4) compared to the gluteus maximus muscle; while on T2-weighted images, they showed slight hyperintensity (n=4). On contrast-enhanced MR images, all lesions showed intense enhancement. On diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), the lesions showed hyperintensity (n=4) and the mean ADC value was 0.973×10(-3) mm2/s.


CONCLUSIONS
Bladder pheochromocytoma appears as a round or oval-shaped intensely enhancing lesion with T1 hyperintensity; these characteristics may facilitate the preoperative determination.
Department of Radiology, PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
Haiyi
H
Wang
Huiyi
H
Ye
Aitao
A
Guo
Zhitao
Z
Wei
Xu
X
Zhang
Yan
Y
Zhong
Zhiwei
Z
Fan
Ye
Y
Wang
Dianjun
D
Wang
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010235:Paraganglioma / Q000473:pathology*; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000473:pathology*; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*