Are Enlarged Nodes With Loss Of Fatty Hilum A Cause Of Concern?

Posted on Wed, 21 Feb 2024

Question: Hello I'm a 19 year old male and for the past year and a half I've been having lots of GERD like symptoms.
Burping all day, bloating after eating or drinking, and a weird feeling of food and water going down my esophagus.
I also got 3 swollen lymph nodes under my jaw and just recently another swollen lymph node in my lower left neck.
I just did an ultrasound on them and one of them is missing echogenic fatty hilum, because of it this I am now in schedule for a ct scan of my neck but it is till 2 weeks from now.
I'm very worried about lymphoma but I'm very confused.
My lymph nodes have not grown, could it be an indolent form at my age?

Answered by Dr. Deepak Sundriyal (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Hello dear. It is difficult to say

Detailed Answer:
Hello dear. I have gone through the details. So an enlarged node that too with loss of fatty hilum is a cause of concern. Most of them are pathological but not always cancerous. Also, it is difficult to tell whether it will be indolent or aggressive just by feature. Biopsy is the final answer

Thanks and regards
Feel free to ask further

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Deepak Sundriyal (58 minutes later)

The lymph node with the loss of fatty hilum is under 1cm in size, could i still get it biopsied?

Answered by Dr. Deepak Sundriyal (3 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Hello. It can be done

Detailed Answer:
Hello dear. So usually a node under 1 cm size even with a loss of fatty hilum will be benign in most cases. I will advise you to wait for a couple of weeks before proceeding to biopsy. It can be biopsied right now also under ultrasound guidance.
Thanks and regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng

Follow up: Dr. Deepak Sundriyal (9 hours later)

Hello, I had an endoscopy and it only showed "Mild gastritis" no tumors.
Is possible for cancer to be there and not show up in an endoscopy?

---------------------------------

is a 7mm x 10mm x 16mm lymph node considered enlarged?

Answered by Dr. Deepak Sundriyal (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Hello. It is very unlikely

Detailed Answer:
Hello dear. The usual picture of malignancy in endoscopy is in the form of ulcer, growth, nodule . It is highly unlikely that a cancer just presents with mild gastritis.
Thanks and regards

---------------------------------

Brief Answer:
HEllo. It depends upon the location

Detailed Answer:
Hello dear. It depends upon the location of the node.
If it is in the neck region, then any node more than 1 cm is size will be taken as enlarged and needs diagnostic workup , until proven otherwise.
Thanks and regards

Note: For further queries related to kidney problems Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T