MR imaging of musculoskeletal tumors and tumor mimickers with intravenous gadolinium: experience with 242 patients.

PURPOSE

This pictorial essay reviews our experience with MR scans with gadolinium in patients with musculoskeletal tumors and tumor mimickers.

DESIGN

Review of 242 MR scans obtained in the initial evaluation of a possible primary musculoskeletal neoplasm. All scans included a T1-weighted, fat-suppressed sequence following intravenous administration of gadolinium.

RESULTS

MR scans with gadolinium did not contribute to differential diagnosis or patient management in 89% of the patients in this series. However, intravenous gadolinium did assist in guiding the biopsy of bulky lesions and evaluating treated tumor beds for possible recurrence. MR scans with gadolinium were sometimes helpful when the differential diagnosis included synovitis, Morton's neuroma or intramuscular myxoma, and when it was important to differentiate cystic from solid lesions.

CONCLUSIONS

Routine use of gadolinium in every initial MR examination of a possible musculoskeletal mass is not warranted. However, there are appropriate selected indications for gadolinium administration as outlined above.