Sonographic criteria for the staging and follow-up of malignant lymphomas

: Ultrasonography is an integral part of the radiological imaging of malignant lymphomas for staging, therapy planning, monitoring, follow-up, post-therapeutic care, and detection of recurrences, as well as the diagnostic differentiation of benign lesions and metastasis of solid tumors. None of the imaging methods, including sonography, however, can safely determine the stage (UICC certainty level C4) in agreement with the pathohistological examination. Also considering the clinical appearance the sonographic criteria in the synoptic evaluation will nevertheless provide important indications for diagnosis and therapy planning. Not only changes in size and shape, but also the echogenicity (gray-scale histogram) and vascularization (color Doppler) of nodal and extranodal processes are decisive criteria for estimating the therapeutic response rates and detecting relapses.