Peri- and paracardial involvement in lymphoma: a radiographic study of 11 cases

Eleven patients with pericardiac and paracardiac lymphomatous involvement were studied. Computed tomography (CT) of the chest was compared to plain chest films for its ability to define the sites and extent of involvement in the paracardiac area. Nine of the 11 patients had abnormalities on chest radiography, which included abnormal contours in the fat pad areas and along the heart border, or an enlarged cardiac silhouette. Two patients had normal cardiac silhouettes; however, CT showed definite abnormalities. CT differentiated adenopathy from fat pads in two patients and pericardial effusion from cardiomegaly or paracardiac adenopathy in two patients. The exact location and extent of the paracardiac adenopathy initially seen on chest film was defined by CT. Careful analysis of the peri- and paracardiac areas by plain films and CT is essential to the diagnosis and the proper management of patients with Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.