title: Well-differentiated neuroendocrine carcinoma mimicking an echinococcus cyst of the liver in CT-MRI findings with hepatocyte specific contrast material.
abstract: Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors and their metastases have an inconsistent appearance with only a small percentage of lesions appearing as cystic masses in computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and can therefore be mistaken as benign or infectious lesions, leading to a false diagnosis with delayed and inadequate treatment. We report a patient with upper abdominal pain lasting for several months, caused by a huge cystic neuroendocrine carcinoma of the liver which was mistakenly interpreted as an echinococcus cyst and present the findings in the initial CT and the subsequently performed MRI under application of hepatocyte specific contrast material, which led to distinct differential diagnoses and therefore had a capacious impact on the therapeutic strategy.
authors.affiliation: Klinik für Strahlenheilkunde, Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany. michaela.krohn@charite.de
authors.forename: Michaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krohn
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grieser
authors.forename: Wilko
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Weichert
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pascher
authors.forename: Timm
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Denecke
mesh_terms: D018278:Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003287:Contrast Media; D003951:Diagnostic Errors; D004444:Echinococcosis, Hepatic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006498:Hepatectomy; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary / Q000601:surgery; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009382:Neoplasms, Unknown Primary / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; C073590:gadolinium ethoxybenzyl DTPA; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA