Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Tumor (PEComa): Rare Imaging Diagnosis, CT Findings, and Modern Treatment Guide
Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Tumor (PEComa): The Rare Tumor Every Radiologist Should Recognize Imagine a young patient arriving in the emergency department with nothing more alarming than a fever and a cough. A routine chest X-ray is performed. Instead of pneumonia alone, the radiologist discovers a large thoracic mass. Further CT imaging reveals a second renal lesion. Biopsy later confirms an exceptionally rare diagnosis: Perivascular Epithelioid Cell Tumor (PEComa). This scenario illustrates why PEComa matters in modern medical imaging , CT scan diagnosis , and radiology interpretation . Though uncommon, PEComa can mimic more common malignancies and may appear in the kidney, liver, mediastinum, uterus, lung, retroperitoneum, and soft tissues. For clinicians, radiologists, oncologists, and informed readers, understanding PEComa is increasingly important because targeted therapy using mTOR inhibitors has transformed treatment in selected patients. What Is Perivascular Epithelio...