Myometrial invasion of endometrial carcinoma: assessment with dynamic MR and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images.

AIM

To evaluate the usefulness of dynamic magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in assessing the depth of myometrial invasion, compared with conventional T2-weighted and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Forty patients with endometrial carcinoma were examined with T2-weighted images, dynamic studies and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images, preoperatively. We evaluated enhancement patterns of myometrium and tumour, and compared MR findings with histological results concerning the depth of myometrial invasion.

RESULTS

In assessing the depth of myometrial invasion, the accuracy of T2-weighted images, dynamic studies and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images was 58%, 85% and 68%, respectively. The tumour-myometrial contrast of dynamic studies was higher than that of other images. In addition, subendometrial enhancement (SEE) was frequently observed in dynamic studies in post-menopausal women, which was an important landmark in detecting myometrial invasion.

CONCLUSION

We consider that dynamic MR imaging has greater advantage in assessing myometrial invasion than T2-weighted or contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging.