Benign and malignant lesions of the stomach: evaluation of CT criteria for differentiation.

PURPOSE

To determine the sensitivity and specificity of computed tomographic (CT) criteria for differentiating benign from malignant stomach lesions in patients with a thickened gastric wall at CT.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A radiology department file search revealed 36 patients with a thickened gastric wall at CT who underwent double-contrast barium suspension upper gastrointestinal tract examinations within 6 weeks before or after CT. The authors reviewed the CT images without knowledge of the final radiologic, endoscopic, or pathologic findings to determine the degree of gastric wall thickening and the symmetry, distribution, and enhancement of the thickened wall. The sensitivity and specificity of these findings for detection of malignancy were calculated.

RESULTS

Two of 36 patients had two gastric abnormalities each. The final diagnoses in the 38 cases were gastritis in 19, hiatal hernia in four, benign ulcer in three, benign (n = 3) or malignant (n = 8) gastric neoplasm in 11, and no gastric abnormality in one case. Mean wall thickness was 1.5 cm (range, 0.7-7.5 cm). The finding of gastric wall thickness of 1 cm or greater had a sensitivity of 100% but a specificity of only 42% for detection of malignant or potentially malignant stomach lesions. The finding of focal, eccentric, or enhancing wall thickening had a sensitivity of 93%, 71%, or 43%, respectively, and a specificity of 8%, 75%, or 88%, respectively, for detection of these lesions. Gastric wall thickening that was 1 cm or greater and was focal, eccentric, and enhancing had a specificity of 92% but a sensitivity of only 36% for detection of these lesions.

CONCLUSION

Gastric wall thickness of 1 cm or greater at CT had a sensitivity of 100% but a specificity of less than 50% for detection of malignant or potentially malignant stomach lesions that necessitated further diagnostic evaluation.