Computerized tomographic findings in intracranial and skull metastases (author's transl)]

Findings obtained by CT scan in 45 cases of metastatic brain tumor, 1 case of leptomeningeal metastasis, 1 case of dural metastasis, and 3 cases of metastatic skull tumor were analized. Primary lesions were lung carcinomas in 24 cases, breast carcinomas in 6 cases, renal carcinomas in 4 cases, stomach carcinomas in 4 cases, other malignant tumors in 6 cases, and unknown of origins in 6 cases. In 15 cases of metastatic brain tumor, the lesion was solitary, while in 30 cases the lesions were multiple. Enhancement effect was found in 93% of 118 metastatic tumors. Patterns of enhancement were divided into two types: solid and ring enhancements. Solid enhancement was found in 48.3% of 118 metastatic brain tumors and ring enhancement in 44.7% of them. The Hounsfield numbers of the enhanced areas of the tumors of the solid enhancement type were similar with those of the ring enhancement type both in plain and enhancement CT. Ring enhancement was predominant in tumors larger than 2 cm in diameter, but was not related to the difference of the primary lesions nor to the pathological patterns.