Background/aims: To determine the significant CT findings of dry peritoneal seeding (DPS) in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC) and to assess whether radiologists' performance in the detection of DPS can be improved using these significant CT findings.
Methodology: Two radiologists reviewed CT images of AGC patients with DPS and without seeding for the presence or absence of various CT findings suggesting peritoneal seeding, in consensus. Significant CT findings for DPS were determined using Fisher's exact test. Two other observers, blinded to the results of the consensus review during the first session but not during the second session, evaluated the presence or absence of DPS independently on a five-point scale. Each observer's performance was evaluated using a pair-wise comparison of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.
Results: Soft tissue nodule or plaque on the peritoneal surface was the only significant CT finding of DPS (p=0.014). The areas under the ROC curves of the two observers were not significantly different between the two review sessions.
Conclusions: Soft tissue nodule or plaque on the peritoneal surface was a significant CT finding for the detection of DPS. However, radiologists' performance for the detection of DPS did not improve despite knowledge of this finding.