Abstract: Objective    To investigate the CT characteristics and anatomical basis of lymphoma with solitary mass in retroperitoneal space.   Methods   The CT data of 40 cases of lymphoma with solitary retroperitoneal mass confirmed by pathological diagnosis were reviewed retrospectively to study and explore the imaging anatomic features.    Results   The retroperitoneal lymphoma in this study could be divided into two types: (1) solitary retroperitoneal mass type (n=13) (2) single dominant retroperitoneal mass surrounded by enlarged lymph nodes type (n=27). There were statistical differences between the two types of masses in whether they were surrounded by blood vessels or not (P=0.004) and whether they had aortic floating signs or not (P=0.001). There was no statistical difference in terms of the short-axis diameter of the masses (P=0.230), the masses’ anatomic location (P=0.427), CT enhanced degree (P=0.184), homogeneous enhancement or heterogeneous enhancement (P=0.933), margin of the mass clear or not (P=0.408) between these two groups. Conclusions   CT plays an important role in the diagnosis and anatomical details of solitary mass lymphoma in retroperitoneal space. It can provide imaging reference for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of abdominal lymphoma.   

Key words: Lymphoma; ,  , Solitary mass; ,  , Retroperitoneal space; ,  , Tomography; ,  , X-ray computed