CT scan

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saltygirl
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2021 4:46 pm
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CT scan

Postby saltygirl » Wed Apr 21, 2021 6:14 pm

What does non enhancing area means on contrast CT scan? How does cancer show?
Stage 4, distant lymph nodes May 2020, braf/kras mutations
11 folfoxiri
Intense radiation 1 week on distant lymph nodes
Surgery, hysterectomy, colon resection, distant lymph nodes resection
Complete pathological response to chemo.
NED 2021
NED 2022
NED 2023

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Green Tea
Posts: 451
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2016 10:48 am

Re: CT scan

Postby Green Tea » Thu Apr 22, 2021 12:28 am

saltygirl wrote:What does non enhancing area means on contrast CT scan? How does cancer show?

Here is some information on contrast CT and image enhancement:
Contrast Enhancement

"Contrast enhancement is a ubiquitous term in radiology and can be used in three ways.

  1. Firstly, it may refer to any method of exaggerating the visible difference between adjacent structures on imaging by administering contrast media/agents. This includes differentiating between normal structures. There are many different types, which vary by modality (see the article on contrast agents for further information).
    .
  2. Secondly, contrast enhancement can also refer to characteristics of abnormal lesions in the body. The diffusion of the contrast agents from the bloodstream to body tissues is physiologically limited. In some pathologies e.g. cancer, new abnormal blood vessels may develop (i.e. neoangiogenesis), which tend to be leakier than normal capillaries, resulting in the lesion being much more visible on contrast-enhanced scans.

    In the case of the CNS, the blood-brain barrier (BBB) limits the diffusion of contrast agents. The blood-brain barrier is often disrupted in pathologies of the CNS, leading to lesional enhancement post-administration of contrast agents on CT/MRI scans.
    .
  3. A third use of the term contrast enhancement is in image post-processing. The improvement of lesion conspicuity is obtained by redistributing the grey scale of the images in a non-linear fashion to improve the separation of subtle or obscured variations in pixel intensity into a more visually discernible distribution, thus taking advantage of human vision physiological attributes."
Reference: https://radiopaedia.org/articles/contrast-enhancement?lang=us


From my point of view (which is a layman's point of view), what "non-enhancing area" means is that the area does not have any of the usual characteristics that you would expect when using contrast -- e.g., convex or non-convex borders, or intervening fat, or other features that would allow the radiologist to say that the area is a cyst, or a mass, or a hemangioma, or an atelectasis, or a tumor, or whatever. In other words, this CT shows something in that area that is too blurry or too fuzzy to tell exactly what it is. This probably means that it is nothing to worry about for the moment. If it is really important then it will probably show up with better features on the next scan so that they can say what it is. If they are really worried about it they might order an MRI with contrast to see if this same area shows up with distinct features.

As for "how does cancer show", this depends on many things, whether it is in the lungs or in the liver, whether it is a primary cancer or a metastasis from elsewhere, etc. They all have different features, but experienced radiologists usually know how to recognize the different types of cancer when the see them. That's what they're trained to do.

saltygirl
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2021 4:46 pm
Facebook Username: Salty.girl

Re: CT scan

Postby saltygirl » Thu Apr 22, 2021 1:59 pm

Thank you very much!!! This helps a lot. My onco said: most likely a scar. But as stage 3/4. They are not sure. Every CT scan will be a nightmare. But until the next I have living to do. Taking my kids to Peru and Europe covid style. Wishing everybody a great summer.
Stage 4, distant lymph nodes May 2020, braf/kras mutations
11 folfoxiri
Intense radiation 1 week on distant lymph nodes
Surgery, hysterectomy, colon resection, distant lymph nodes resection
Complete pathological response to chemo.
NED 2021
NED 2022
NED 2023


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