Pseudo fat-saturated appearance of magnetic resonance head and neck images in 2 cachectic patients

Cachexia is a significant contributor to cancer mortality as it is responsible for up to 30% of cancer deaths. Magnetic resonance imaging offers a noninvasive approach to detect features of cachexia. T1-weighted images of cachectic patients have a “pseudo fat-saturated” appearance secondary to disap...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Radiology case reports 2020-12, Vol.15 (12), p.2693-2697
Main Authors: Jegatheeswaran, Vibeeshan, Chan, Michael, Kucharczyk, Walter, Chen, Yingming Amy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cachexia
Cancer imaging
Case Report
MRI technique
Orbits
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Summary:Cachexia is a significant contributor to cancer mortality as it is responsible for up to 30% of cancer deaths. Magnetic resonance imaging offers a noninvasive approach to detect features of cachexia. T1-weighted images of cachectic patients have a “pseudo fat-saturated” appearance secondary to disappearance of subcutaneous and fascial fat throughout the body, as well as fat in the bone marrow. Orbital fat remains preserved until late disease. We present 2 cases with these classic imaging findings of cancer cachexia in the subcutaneous tissues of the head, neck, and spine. This imaging phenomenon is often misinterpreted by radiologists and may lead to delayed diagnosis or unnecessary repeat imaging.
ISSN:1930-0433
1930-0433
DOI:10.1016/j.radcr.2020.10.022