Effect of gastric filling degree on thickness of advanced gastric carcinoma / 中国医学影像技术

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the effect of gastric filling degree on the thickness of advanced gastric carcinoma and the clinical value of the thickness measured by CT.Methods Totally 38 patients with advanced gastric carcinoma were enrolled and 21 patients were newly diagnosed,17 patients were reexamination after non surgical treatments.The stomach cavity was filled with oral gas-producing powder.The plain scanning (before filling) and enhanced scanning in venous phase (after filling) were performed.The thickness of the normal gastric wall and gastric carcinoma before and after filling were measured on axial images,and the differences were compared.The patients were measured again one month later by the same investigator,and the consistency between the twice measurements was evaluated.Results Before and after filling,the normal gastric wall thickness of each regions was significantly different (all P＜0.001),and the change was greatest at the region of greater curvature.Carcinoma thickness was similar in newly diagnosed patients (P＜0.05),but significantly different in patients for reexamination (P＜0.05).The twice measurements had a good consistency.Conclusion The thickness of gastric carcinoma can be considered as a baseline measurement indicator in newly diagnosed patients.It is critical to maintaining a similar gastric filling degree during reexamination,which is helpful to evaluate the efficacy of treatment accurately.