Aortico-pulmonary paraganglioma associated with bilateral carotid body tumors. Diagnostic presentation and clinical implications.

A case of mediastinal paraganglioma in association with bilateral carotid body tumors is presented. Characteristic radiological findings included a hypointense signal in T1-weighted, a hyperintense signal in T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images and a vascular enhancement pattern in dynamic contrast enhanced MR imaging. Thus, feeding vessels could be depicted noninvasively. The importance of family screening in affected individuals is stressed, as a hereditary form of the disease exists in which multiple paragangliomas are common.