Applications of magnetic resonance imaging to gynecology.

The advent of MRI has improved the ability of the diagnostic radiologist to provide useful clinical information to the practicing gynecologist. Although US remains the screening procedure of choice for evaluation of the uterus and adnexa because of its relative safety and low cost, MRI is now considered the next imaging step. In a woman with pelvic pain, MRI can accurately identify adenomyosis, enumerate and localize uterine fibroids, and provide more accurate identification of endometriosis and cystic teratomas of the ovary than US. Although MRI should not be used as a screening procedure for diagnosing endometrial or cervical carcinoma, it can aid in patient management by determining the extent of myometrial or cervical invasion by endometrial carcinoma and can be used to calculate tumor volume in patients with cervical carcinoma. Early studies suggest that MRI may be helpful in distinguishing between long-term radiation fibrosis and tumor recurrence in such patients. MRI findings may be highly indicative of the presence of ovarian malignancy, but the procedure adds little to CT or US findings. Nevertheless, MRI is superior in the localization of pelvic masses and is often indicated in clarifying the origin of a mass as uterine or ovarian.