CT of Castleman disease

Abstract

The value of computed tomography (CT) in distinguishing among mediastinal fatty tumors, vascular abnormalities, and fluid-filled cystic masses is well established. However, little has been written about the use of CT to identify mediastinal masses with soft-tissue characteristics nor of the ability of CT to assess the degree of enhancement of these lesions after contrast material administration. We report a case of Castleman disease which presented as a densely enhancing, soft-tissue lesion on dynamic CT scanning and suggest that enhancement characteristics may be helpful in limiting the differential diagnosis of mediastinal masses.