Multi-slice spiral CT diagnosis of carotid body tumor

Objective to explore the Multi-slice spiral CT (MSCT) findings of carotid body tumor(CBT). Methods Twelve cases of CBT proved by surgery were collected in this study and all patients accepted contrast-enhanced MSCT examination. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional post-processing were performed at diagnostic workstation using Aquilion 1.42. The CT features of CBT were analyzed. Results Each of 12 patients had one lesion. All lesions demonstrated well-marginated masses of homogeneous soft-tissue density with CT value within 29—48 HU on pre-enhanced images. All lesions were markedly enhanced with CT value over 200 HU on arterial-phase images, and the density of lesions decreased rapidly on delay-phase images. Twelve lesions were all located at the level of carotid artery bifurcation, 3 of them enveloping common carotid artery and internal/external carotid artery, and other 9 of them riding right on the carotid bifurcation. Internal carotid artery usually were shifted toward posterior-lateral, and external carotid artery toward anterior or anterior-medial. Conclusion Contrast-enhanced MSCT examination not only can make a qualitative diagnosis of CBT, but determine its accurate location. It plays an importantly instructional role in clinical diagnosis and treatment.