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Title: Cardiophrenic lymph nodes in liver transplant candidates with hepatocellular carcinoma: imaging characteristics and post-transplant outcomes. Author: Lee C, Kim A, Santos I, Cen Y, Alexopoulos S, Navarro S, Wallman M, Dhanireddy K, Grant E. Journal: Clin Transplant; 2014 Dec; 28(12):1402-9. PubMed ID: 25284352. Abstract: BACKGROUND: No guidelines exist for the management of cardiophrenic lymph nodes in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) being evaluated for liver transplantation. METHODS: One hundred and seventy-eight patients with HCC listed for liver transplant received both pre-transplant computed tomography (CT) and follow-up CT scans. Enlarged cardiophrenic lymph nodes on CT were characterized and followed on subsequent scans; lymph node outcomes were assigned to "reduced" and "not reduced" categories. Tumor and patient characteristics were also recorded. RESULTS: Seventy-one of one hundred and seventy-eight patients (39.9%) had at least one cardiophrenic lymph node larger than 8 mm in diameter on pre-transplant CT. One hundred and sixty-six total lymph nodes were characterized. Six lymph nodes (3.6%) in two patients increased in size on follow-up imaging; all six cardiophrenic lymph nodes were presumed to represent metastases. There was a statistically significant reduction in lymph node size in patients who were transplanted vs. those who were not transplanted. Furthermore, a statistically significant association was found between increasing Model for End-Stage Liver Disease score and lymph node size reduction. There were no significant differences in post-transplant survival between patients with different lymph node outcomes. CONCLUSION: In the absence of metastatic disease in other sites, these lymph nodes are probably reactive; further workup is likely not necessary.[Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]