Imaging diagnosis of carotid body tumor

Objective To probe efficacy of CT, MRI and DSA in diagnosing carotid body tumors. Methods 10 patients with carotid body tumor were confirmed by pathology. 4 patients underwent MRI with T1WI, T2WI and contrast-enhanced MRA. 6 patients underwent CT ordinary scan and enhanced scan. All patients underwent DSA and TBO. Results The preoperative diagnosis of 10 cases by CT, MRI and/or DSA had a 100% agreement rate with the clinical and pathological diagnosis as carotid body tumor. All lesions were located at bifurcation of the carotid artery. CT ordinary scan featured low-intensity and homogenous ball-shape lesions. The value of CT was 25~37 Hu. MRI featured high-intensity on T1WI and T2WI with flow-void signal in the center. MRA clearly showed seat, size, shape and blood dynamics in the lesions. DSA imaging of CBT showed tumor grasping carotid, enlarged carotid artery bifurcation, evenly stained tumor and blood-supplying artery. Conclusion Manifestations of carotid body tumor in CT, MRI and DSA are characteristic, a combined use of them may enable them to complement each other, helping to offer information for a better choice of operation procedure.