Magnetic resonance imaging of skeletal neoplasms

ABSTRACT

With the advent of endoprothetic replacement and sophisticated oncologieal treatment, the detailed imaging of all musculoskeletal tumours has become a matter of major importance. This short review has highlighted the success or the newer diagnostic techniques and the dramatic recent developments in MRI. Fourteen cases with known or clinically strongly suspected to have skeletal neoplastic lesion were enrolled in the study and all underwent MRI examination with various image sequences. Images were reviewed retrospectively and suggested diagnosis was correlated with that or pathological diagnosis. MRI proved to provides a more reliable assessment of marrow involvement in primary bone tumours such as osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma. Fat suppression techniques may be of practical value in the evaluation of soft tissue oedaema and soft tissue involvement. Involvement of neurovascular tissue can he established. The presence of sharply defined boundaries and homogenous internal structures favour a lesion being benign whilst irregularity of the margins and heterogenous internal structure suggest malignancy. The absence of known biological hazards, the high level of tissue differentiation and spatial resolution and the ability to image multiple planes have enabled MRI to become the dominant force in imaging of skeletal neoplasms