About

Benjamin Carney, M.D., M.S., is associated with UC Davis Health and is involved in radiology education and research. He is the Program Director of the Integrated Interventional Radiology Residency at UC Davis Health, School of Medicine. His role includes overseeing the training of residents in interventional radiology, a subspecialty of radiology focused on minimally invasive, image-guided procedures. His work supports the development of future radiologists through educational programs and clinical training.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Pathology
• Radiology
• Internal medicine
• Nuclear medicine

Selected publications

• Update on Management of Incidental Findings Seen on Imaging Studies of the Abdomen and Pelvis

  Radiographics · 2026-03-05

  article

  Since the publication of the American College of Radiology white papers on incidental findings in the abdomen and pelvis, numerous studies have been published that either support or contradict existing guidelines or address common incidental findings for which no white paper exists.

  PublisherDOI

• Core Needle Biopsy of the Abdominal Fat Pad for Diagnosis of Amyloidosis

  Ultrasound Quarterly · 2026-01-29

  article1st authorCorresponding

  Amyloidosis is a rare systemic disorder that is underdiagnosed and whose incidence is increasing as the population ages. The reference standard for diagnosis is endomyocardial biopsy, though its utility as a screening tool is limited. Fine needle aspiration (FNA) and surgical excisional biopsy (SEB) of the abdominal fat pad have emerged as alternatives to endomyocardial biopsy as screening tools for amyloidosis. Given concerns about the variable sensitivity of FNA and the more invasive nature of SEB, our referring providers asked our group to perform core needle biopsies (CNB) of the abdominal fat pad. While limited prior work has reviewed the performance of fat pad CNB, the technical details of this procedure have not been described in the literature. With this technical note, we hope to encourage more radiologists to offer ultrasound-guided CNB of the abdominal fat pad as an additional procedure in the toolkit of interventional radiologists.

  PublisherDOI

• Detection of microscopic fat in adrenal adenomas: comparison of 2D dual gradient-echo MRI and 3D two-point Dixon techniques

  Acta Radiologica · 2025-11-01

  articleCorresponding

  Background Limited data exist comparing the detection of microscopic fat in adrenal adenomas on two-dimensional chemical shift dual-echo (2D CSI) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and three-dimensional two-point Dixon techniques (3D Dixon). Purpose To compare the sensitivity of 2D CSI versus 3D Dixon techniques for the diagnosis of adrenal adenomas. Material and Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted of 33 patients with adrenal masses who underwent both 2D CSI and 3D Dixon sequences on a 1.5-T scanner. Two blinded radiologists measured and calculated signal intensity (SI) index (SII) (100×(SI in phase – SI out of phase)/SI in phase) of nodules on each technique. Reference standard diagnosis of 30 adrenal adenomas was established. Sensitivity for adrenal adenoma diagnosis was determined using a SII >16.5%. Results In total, 33 nodules were investigated (mean size=22 mm, range=11–55 mm). Of the 30 adenomas, the mean SII on 2D CSI was 48% for reader 1 and 44% for reader 2, compared to 34% on 3D Dixon for both readers ( P < 0.001). Sensitivity for the diagnosis of adenoma with 2D CSI was 90% (95% confidence interval [CI]=82–98) for both readers, while 3D Dixon demonstrated a sensitivity of 73% (95% CI=65–82) for reader 1 and 63% (95% CI=55–72) for reader 2. Conclusion 2D dual gradient-echo CSI demonstrated a higher sensitivity for the diagnosis of adrenal adenoma than the 3D Dixon technique. Adrenal MRI evaluation of the adrenal glands at 1.5 T should include 2D dual gradient-echo CSI and not rely solely on 3D two-point Dixon techniques for the diagnosis of adrenal adenomas.

  PublisherDOI

• THE DISTRIBUTION OF MUTATIONS ACROSS TUMOR SIZE IN CCRCC AND THEIR PROGNOSTIC IMPORTANCE IN SMALL MASSES

  Urologic Oncology Seminars and Original Investigations · 2024-03-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Differences in mutations across tumour sizes in clear‐cell renal cell carcinoma

  British Journal of Urology · 2024-09-12 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  OBJECTIVE: To assess the distribution of key mutations across tumour sizes in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC), and secondarily to examine the prognostic impact of aggressive mutations in smaller ccRCCs. PATIENT AND METHODS: The distribution of mutations (VHL, PBRM1, SETD2, BAP1 and CDKN2A loss) across tumour sizes was assessed in 1039 ccRCCs treated with nephrectomy in cohorts obtained from the Tracking Cancer Evolution (TRACERx), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and the Cancer Genomics of the Kidney (CAGEKID) projects. Logistic regression was used to model the presence of each mutation against size. In our secondary analysis, we assessed a subset of ccRCCs ≤7 cm for associations of key aggressive mutations (SETD2, BAP1, and CDKN2A loss) with metastasis, invasive disease and overall survival, while controlling for size. A subset of localised tumours ≤7 cm was also used to assess associations with recurrence after nephrectomy. RESULTS: On logistic regression, each 1-cm increase in tumour size was associated with aggressive mutations, SETD2, BAP1, and CDKN2A loss, at odds ratios (ORs) of 1.09, 1.10 and 1.19 (P < 0.001), whereas no significant association was observed between tumour size and PBRM1 (OR 1.02; P = 0.23). VHL was mildly negatively associated with a 1-cm increase in size (OR 0.95; P = 0.01). Among tumours ≤7 cm, SETD2 and CDKN2A loss were associated with metastatic disease at ORs of 3.86 and 3.84 (P < 0.05) while controlling for tumour size. CDKN2A loss was associated with worse overall survival, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.19 (P = 0.03). Among localised tumours ≤7 cm, SETD2 was associated with worse recurrence-free survival (HR 2.00; P = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Large and small ccRCCs are genomically different. Aggressive mutations, namely, SETD2, BAP1, and CDKN2A loss, are rarely observed in small ccRCCs and are observed more frequently in larger tumours. However, when present in tumours ≤7 cm, SETD2 mutations and CDKN2A loss were still independently associated with invasive disease, metastasis, worse survival, and recurrence after resection, after controlling for size.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Imaging of Hepatobiliary Cancer

  Current Problems in Cancer · 2023-04-01 · 2 citations

  review1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Adrenal Neoplasms: Lessons from Adrenal Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards

  Radiographics · 2023 · 35 citations

  • Medicine
  • Pathology
  • Internal medicine

  Quiz questions for this article are available through the Online Learning Center.

  PublisherDOI

• Contemporary and Emerging MRI Strategies for Assessing Kidney Allograft Complications: Arterial Stenosis and Parenchymal Injury, From the <i>AJR</i> Special Series on Imaging of Fibrosis

  American Journal of Roentgenology · 2023-06-20 · 4 citations

  reviewOpen access

  MRI plays an important role in the evaluation of kidney allografts for vascular complications as well as parenchymal insults. Transplant renal artery stenosis, the most common vascular complication of kidney transplant, can be evaluated by MRA using gadolinium and nongadolinium contrast agents as well as by unenhanced MRA techniques. Parenchymal injury occurs through a variety of pathways, including graft rejection, acute tubular injury, BK polyomavirus infection, drug-induced interstitial nephritis, and pyelonephritis. Investigational MRI techniques have sought to differentiate among these causes of dysfunction as well as to assess the degree of interstitial fibrosis or tubular atrophy (IFTA)-the common end pathway for all of these processes-which is currently evaluated by invasively obtained core biopsies. Some of these MRI sequences have shown promise in not only assessing the cause of parenchymal injury but also assessing IFTA noninvasively. This review describes current clinically used MRI techniques and previews promising investigational MRI techniques for assessing complications of kidney grafts.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Liver surface nodularity and ascites are associated with mortality risk in acute alcohol‐associated hepatitis

  Alcohol Clinical and Experimental Research · 2023-12-21

  article

  BACKGROUND: Acute alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH) is associated with high mortality. CT-derived liver surface nodularity (LSN) is a robust prognostic biomarker in other chronic liver diseases. The aim of this study was to determine relationships between LSN, disease severity, and mortality in AH. METHODS: Adults hospitalized with AH from January 2016 to March 2020 were included if an abdominal CT was performed between 8 weeks prior to 72 h after hospitalization. LSN was measured using quantitative methods (Liver Surface Nodularity Software version 0.88, Birmingham, AL, USA). Cox proportional hazards models, logistic regression and AUROC analysis were used to examine relationships between LSN and 180-day transplant-free survival. RESULTS: Of 386 patients hospitalized with AH during the study period, 230 had CT scans performed, and 205 met inclusion criteria. Mean transplant-free survival was 127 days (95% CI 118-137). Within each cohort, patients were grouped into low [LSN-LOW, N = 109 (53.2%)] and high [LSN-HIGH, N = 96 (46.8%)] LSN strata based on an optimal cutoff of 2.86 derived from unadjusted ROC curves. Patients with high LSN had features of portal hypertension, which included encephalopathy [53 (55.2%) vs. 43 (39.4%), p = 0.017], ascites on CT [81 (84.4%) vs. 69 (63.3%), p = 0.001] and portosystemic shunts [78 (81.2%) vs. 69 (63.3%), p = 0.003]. High LSN, ascites and MELD were independently associated with lower likelihood of 180-day transplant-free survival, and inclusion of a score assigning 1 point each for high LSN or ascites on CT (AHRADS score) to MELD enhanced diagnostic accuracy of AUROC for 180-day survival compared to MELD alone [AUROC 0.782 (95% CI 0.719-0.845) vs. 0.735 (0.667-0.802), p = 0.023]. CONCLUSIONS: CT-derived factors that include LSN and ascites are radiographic biomarkers associated with 180-day transplant-free survival in alcohol-associated hepatitis.

  PublisherDOI

• Sa1503 LIVER SURFACE NODULARITY IS AN ACCURATE BIOMARKER OF DISEASE SEVERITY AND MORTALITY RISK IN AH

  Gastroenterology · 2023-05-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Michael T. Corwin

  University of California, Davis

  8 shared

• Elaine M. Caoili

  University of Michigan–Ann Arbor

  5 shared

• Nicola Schieda

  Ottawa Hospital

  5 shared

• Erick M. Remer

  4 shared

• Jieming Fang

  City of Hope

  4 shared

• Laura J. Miller

  Veterans Health Administration

  4 shared

• Winnie A. Mar

  University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences System

  4 shared

• Louise P. King

  4 shared

Labs

• Abdominal ImagingPI

Education

• M.D., Medicine

  University of California, Davis

  2005

• M.S., Radiology

  University of California, Davis

  2000

• B.S., Radiology

  University of California, Davis

  1998