Frequency of mesenteric panniculitis in an oncologic population: A multicenter comparative study with a control group.

[INTRODUCTION] Mesenteric panniculitis is a rare benign entity that affects the mesentery, often detected incidentally in an imaging examination. Its association with cancer is a controversial topic. The objective of the study was to determine the frequency of this condition in a known oncological population and compare it with that of a control population.

[METHODS] Cross-sectional, retrospective study, comparative with a control group. Patients referred for PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography) staging for recently diagnosed cancer, who had not been treated and had no history of other previous cancer, were selected. This oncological group was separated according to type of cancer. The control group included patients referred for multiple traumatic injuries to undergo computed tomography that included the abdomen and pelvis. Control patients with a history of cancer were excluded. In both cases, the images were reviewed in search of mesenteric panniculitis.

[RESULTS] Of the oncological group (1911 patients), 5.2% presented mesenteric panniculitis. The types of cancer with the highest frequency of mesenteric panniculitis were non-Hodgkin lymphoma (16.1%) and prostate cancer (12.8%), followed by multiple myeloma (6.9%), urothelial carcinoma (6.2%), cancer of the head and neck (5.3%) and pancreatic cancer (5.2%). Hodgkin lymphoma and cancers exclusive to women (breast, cervix, uterus, ovary) presented a low frequency of mesenteric panniculitis, similar to the control population. The frequency of mesenteric panniculitis in the control population (1056 individual) was 0.6%. The Odds Ratio of the oncological population vs. control for mesenteric panniculitis exposure was 9.6 (95% CI4.2249 to 22.1015, p < 0,0001).

[CONCLUSIONS] The frequency of mesenteric panniculitis depends on the type of cancer, and it is high in non-Hodgkin lymphoma and prostate cancer, but low and similar to that of the control population in other neoplasms.