Imaging primary and secondary tumor thrombus of the inferior vena cava: multi-detector computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Tumor thrombus of the inferior vena cava (IVC) is a severe medical condition with very poor prognosis unless the patient is treated with surgical resection. It can be caused by a primary leiomyosarcoma originating in the vessel wall or by intraluminal extension of tumor thrombus into the IVC from an adjacent organ. We reviewed 21 cases of tumoral thrombus in the IVC including primary leiomyosarcoma of the IVC (2 cases), renal cell carcinoma (14 cases), adrenocortical carcinoma (2 cases), primary adrenocortical leiomyosarcoma (1 case), hepatocellular carcinoma (1 case), and retroperitoneal metastasis (1 case). The most common findings of IVC tumor thrombus by multi-detector CT and magnetic resonance imaging will be discussed, including scanning protocols and the advantages and disadvantages of each method.