Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is a highly aggressive, rapidly growing B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which manifests in several subtypes including sporadic, endemic, and immunodeficiency-associated forms. Pathologically, BL is classically characterized by translocations of chromosomes 8 and 14 resulting in upregulation of the c-myc protein transcription factor with upregulation of cell proliferation. BL affects nearly every organ system, most commonly the abdomen and pelvis in the sporadic form. Imaging using a multimodality approach plays a crucial role in the management of BL from diagnosis, staging, and evaluation of treatment response to therapy-related complications with ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography playing roles. In this article, we review the pathobiology and classification of BL, illustrate a multimodality imaging approach in evaluating common and uncommon sites of involvement within the trunk and head and neck, and review common therapies and treatment-related complications.

Computed tomography is vulnerable to a wide variety of artifacts, including patient- and technique-specific artifacts, some of which are unique to imaging of the heart. Motion is the most common source of artifacts and can be caused by patient, cardiac, or respiratory motion. Cardiac motion artifacts can be reduced by decreasing the heart rate and variability and the duration of data acquisition; adjusting the placement of the data window within a cardiac cycle; performing single-heartbeat scanning; and using multisegment reconstruction, motion-correction algorithms, and electrocardiographic editing. Respiratory motion artifacts can be minimized with proper breath holding and shortened scan duration. Partial volume averaging is caused by the averaging of attenuation values from all tissue contained within a voxel and can be reduced by improving the spatial resolution, using a higher x-ray energy, or displaying images with a wider window width. Beam-hardening artifacts are caused by the polyenergetic nature of the x-ray beam and can be reduced by using x-ray filtration, applying higher-energy x-rays, altering patient position, modifying contrast material protocols, and applying certain reconstruction algorithms. Metal artifacts are complex and have multiple causes, including x-ray scatter, underpenetration, motion, and attenuation values that exceed the typical dynamic range of Hounsfield units. Quantum mottle or noise is caused by insufficient penetration of tissue and can be improved by increasing the tube current or peak tube potential, reconstructing thicker sections, increasing the rotation time, using appropriate patient positioning, and applying iterative reconstruction algorithms. RSNA, 2016.

Abbreviations: AIP = acute interstitial pneumonia, ARDS = acute respiratory distress syndrome, CTCAE = Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events, CTLA-4 = cytotoxic T-lymphocyte antigen-4, HP = hypersensitivity pneumonitis, ICI = immune checkpoint inhibitor, irAE = immune-related adverse event, NSIP = nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, OP = organizing pneumonia, PD-1 = programmed cell death protein 1, PD-L1 = programmed cell death ligand 1