Rymantė Gleiznienė, Algidas Basevičius

Clinic of Radiology, Kaunas Medical University Hospital

Key words: computed tomography, magnetic rezonance, metastases, brain.

Summary. Metastases in the brain are diagnosed for the patients who have inactive tumors. The quality of the life declines when metastases are diagnosed in the brain. The early diagnosis and different diagnosis influences the correct treatment, the favorable outcome of the patient.

In the article the literature data of brain metastases in computer tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are summarised. Parenchymal cerebral metastases account for 20–40% of all intracranial neoplasms. The most frequent location of the primary tumor are lungs, breasts, skin, rectum. The tipical appearance of metastatic lesion is rounded nodules, surrounding edema, larger than the diameter of the nodule. The main location of metastases is gray and white matter junction. The contrast media observes as a ring or nodule. The density of metastases in computer tomogram and the intensity of metastases in magnetic resonance tomogram are associated with the structure of the cells, vascularity, central necrosis or hemorrhage. Metastatic tumors frequently have cystic or necrotic centers and appear as hipodense lesions in computer tomogram or hipointense and hiperintense (it depends on the regime) in magnetic resonance imaging.

The patients, examed in the Clinic of Radiology, Kaunas Medical University Hospital, data are given in the article. The suspected metastases were for the 147 patients. The metastases were diagnosed for the 80 (54.4%) patients. The repartition by location, density, age and sex of the patient are studied in the article.