Highlights
- •In a patient with an intra-abdominal malignancy presenting with umbilical pain, SMJN should be part of a tailored search pattern.
- •The umbilical region is a site of metastasis due to the convergence of multiple ligaments and rich lymphatic/blood supply.
- •CT features of SMJN include a highly vascular, solid, hyperdense, contrast-enhancing nodule within the subcutaneous tissues.
- •Identification of Sister Mary Joseph nodules is essential to determining staging and course of further treatment in a malignancy.
Abstract
Sister Mary Joseph nodule (SMJN) is an umbilical nodule representing a metastatic
deposit from an intra-abdominal primary malignancy. Most radiologists are unaware
of this phenomenon, and cases of SMJN have rarely been described in the radiology
literature, to our knowledge. We present an example of a patient with known primary
pancreatic adenocarcinoma found to have an umbilical nodule as the first manifestation
of metastatic disease after an initial misdiagnosis on computed tomography. In addition,
we delineate the importance of maintaining a high index of suspicion and pattern recognition
for SMJN during imaging when a patient presents with umbilical pain in the setting
of known malignancy, since early diagnosis can alter management.
Keywords
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References
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 30, 2019
Accepted:
December 27,
2019
Received in revised form:
December 11,
2019
Received:
October 1,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
