Computed tomography scanning and magnetic resonanc

Computed tomography scanning and magnetic resonance imaging

CT is increasingly used in the investigation of the stomach, especially in the context of gastric malignancies. Although it is much less accurate in ‘T’ staging than endoluminal can be easily detected and is reasonably accurate in detecting nodal involvement with tumour. However it is important to understand that microscopic tumour deposits in lymph nodes cannot be detected and lymph nodes may undergo reactive enlargement but not contain tumour. Hepatic metastases from gastric cancer may be di ffi cult to identify as they are often of the same density as liver and may not handle the intravenous contrast di ff erently . At present, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning does not o ff er an y specific advantage in assessing the stomach, although it has a higher sensitivity for the detection of gastric cancer liver metastases than conventional CT imaging.