Research Papers:
Use of iodine concentration in lipidpoor portion of renal mass in differentiation of angiomyolipoma from renal cell carcinoma
Jia Sun1, Xiao-Yan Zhang2, Xiao-Ting Li2, Yan-Ling Li2 and Zhi-Long Wang2
1Department of Radiology, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100020, China
2Department of Radiology, Peking University Cancer Hospital and Institute, Beijing 100142, China
Correspondence to:
Jia Sun, email: [email protected]
Keywords: angiomyolipoma; renal cell carcinoma; computed tomography; iodine
Received: August 24, 2017 Accepted: March 19, 2018 Published:
ABSTRACT
This study is aimed to evaluate the iodine concentration in the lipid-poor portion of the renal mass as a potential tool for the differentiation between angiomyolipoma (AML) and renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
A total of 22 patients with highly suspected renal disease underwent single-source-dual energy computed tomography (CT) scanning. Of these, 16 (8 AML; 8 RCC) underwent corticomedullary, nephrographic and excretory phase enhanced scanning. The regions of interest (ROI) were manually placed in the lipid-poor portion of the renal mass and in the abdominal aorta. Average iodine concentrations were obtained for the ROIs and abdominal aorta. Data were compared using repeated measures analysis with the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons.
At the unenhanced phase, the iodine concentration in the lipid-poor portion of the renal mass of RCC was not significantly different from that of AML (P = 0.298). At the three enhanced phases, the iodine concentrations in the renal mass of RCC were substantially elevated compared to those of AML. In addition, the CT values of the renal mass of RCC were significantly higher than those of AML at all the enhanced phases. Of note, there was a significant correlation between iodine concentrations and CT values (r = 0.919; P < 0.001) in the lipid-poor portion of the renal mass of RCC.
In conclusion, between RCC and AML there was significant difference in iodine concentrations in the lipid-poor portion of the renal masses. Iodine concentration holds promise as a diagnostic alternative to macroscopic fat for differentiation of AML from RCC.