Imaging of abdominal nodal spread in malignant disease

This is a review of the role of imaging procedures for the assessment of abdominal and pelvic lymph nodes. The diagnosis of malignant lymphatic spread is rarely the sole purpose of imaging, because it is usually part of a general abdominal examination, most frequently with CT or US, or increasingly with MRI. These studies are often requested in order to obtain information about the situation to be encountered during surgery, or to alert the surgeon to irresectability or to unexpected metastases outside the initially planned area of exploration. In most surgically treated tumours the role of imaging for preoperative staging is limited, due either to its insufficient sensitivity or because the initial treatment is independent of the lymph node stage. Imaging is commonly used to verify treatment response to chemo or radiotherapy and for follow-up.