Purpose or Case Report: Cancer places the body in a state which predisposes patients to certain complications, both related to the cancer itself and its treatment. Pediatric cancers differ from those in adults in their type and behaviors; therefore, prior knowledge of these cancers is crucial to diagnose complications. The pathophysiology and associated imaging of oncologic emergencies in pediatric patients will be discussed. We anticipate this discussion to be of particular interest for pediatric radiologists who care for this group of patients, as many of these conditions require the radiologist to be consciously considering them to be promptly diagnosed.
Imaging plays a necessary role in the workup of oncology patients, both in initial staging and evaluation of emergent complications. Complications can be categorized into the natural course of disease and related to treatment, including both chemotherapy- and interventional-related. This review will take a systems format to discuss neurologic, trunk, and hematologic emergencies, both of iatrogenic and cancer-related pathologies with a range of imaging modalities. Imaging diagnosis of life-threatening conditions of the nervous system (spinal cord compression, cerebral herniation, meningitis), thoracic (vascular and pulmonary), and abdominal (bowel obstruction, perforation, and ischemia; urinary tract obstruction; intussusception; arterial injury; venous thrombosis) systems will be discussed with a multi-imaging modality approach.
Equipped with this information, we expect attendees to recognize “do not miss” imaging findings for oncologic emergencies and to provide prompt, effective diagnoses for the treatment of this special group of patients.
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