Gastric cancer represents one of the most common oncological causes of death worldwide. In order to treat patients in the best possible way, the staging of gastric cancer should be accurate. In this regard, endoscopy ultrasound (EUS) has been considered the reference standard for tumor (T) and nodal (N) statuses in recent decades. However, thanks to technological improvements, computed tomography (CT) has gained an important role, not only in the assessment of distant metastases (M status) but also in T and N staging. In addition, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can contribute to the detection and staging of primary gastric tumors thanks to its excellent soft tissue contrast and multiple imaging sequences without radiation-related risks. In addition, MRI can help with the detection of liver metastases, especially small lesions. Finally, positron emission tomography (PET) is still considered a useful diagnostic tool for the staging of gastric cancer patients, with a focus on nodal metastases and peritoneal carcinomatosis. In addition, it may play a role in the treatment of gastric cancer in the coming years thanks to the introduction of new labeling peptides. This review aims to summarize the most common advantages and pitfalls of EUS, CT, MRI and PET in the TNM staging of gastric cancer patients.

The advance in technology allows for the development of different CT scanners in the field of dual-energy computed tomography (DECT). In particular, a recently developed detector-based technology can collect data from different energy levels, thanks to its layers. The use of this system is suited for material decomposition with perfect spatial and temporal registration. Thanks to post-processing techniques, these scanners can generate conventional, material decomposition (including virtual non-contrast (VNC), iodine maps, Z-effective imaging, and uric acid pair images) and virtual monoenergetic images (VMIs). In recent years, different studies have been published regarding the use of DECT in clinical practice. On these bases, considering that different papers have been published using the DECT technology, a review regarding its clinical application can be useful. We focused on the usefulness of DECT technology in gastrointestinal imaging, where DECT plays an important role.

In female patients, acute pelvic pain can be caused by gynaecological, gastrointestinal, and urinary tract pathologies. Due to the variety of diagnostic possibilities, the correct assessment of these patients may be challenging. The most frequent gynaecological causes of acute pelvic pain in non-pregnant women are pelvic inflammatory disease, ruptured ovarian cysts, ovarian torsion, and degeneration or torsion of uterine leiomyomas. On the other hand, spontaneous abortion, ectopic pregnancy, and placental disorders are the most frequent gynaecological entities to cause acute pelvic pain in pregnant patients. Ultrasound (US) is usually the first-line diagnostic technique because of its sensitivity across most common aetiologies and its lack of radiation exposure. Computed tomography (CT) may be performed if ultrasound findings are equivocal or if a gynaecologic disease is not initially suspected. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an extremely useful second-line technique for further characterisation after US or CT. This pictorial review aims to review the spectrum of gynaecological entities that may manifest as acute pelvic pain in the emergency department and to describe the imaging findings of these gynaecological conditions obtained with different imaging techniques.