Role of computed tomography angiography in detection and staging of small bowel carcinoid tumors

Core Tip

Core tip: Small-bowel carcinoid tumors are neuroendocrine tumors and represent most common form of gastrointestinal carcinoids. Although primary small bowel neoplasms are overall rare, carcinoids still represent the second most common primary small-bowel malignancy. State-of-the-art high-resolution multiphasic computed tomography with advanced postprocessing methods provides an excellent tool to overcome the challenges of their depiction. Here, we discuss their imaging appearance, focusing on the primary tumor, locoregional mesenteric nodal metastases, and distant metastatic disease. Guidance for imaging protocol selection is given. Imaging findings are illustrated with a series of challenging cases which illustrate the spectrum of disease. Typical imaging pitfalls and pearls are illustrated.