Peritoneal carcinomatosis: imaging with 64-MDCT and 3T MRI with diffusion-weighted imaging

Peritoneal carcinomatosis is usually associated with a poor overall survival rate. Recently, introduction of more aggressive surgical treatment and intraperitoneal chemotherapy appears to significantly increase the overall survival rate for these patients. A detailed preoperative assessment of peritoneal carcinomatosis could be very challenging in the field of imaging, but a new aggressive surgical approach requires an accurate preoperative assessment of the disease. Cross-sectional imaging using CT and MRI with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) sequences is important for appropriate management of patients with peritoneal carcinomatosis. Appreciation of the spectrum of diagnostic patterns and pitfalls as well as different sites of involvement of peritoneal carcinomatosis using CT and DWI is crucial for appropriate surgical treatment.