Role of ct and mri examination for assessment of the paranasal sinuses malignant tumours

ABSTRACT

This study included 24 patients with pathologically proved malignant lesions involving the paranasal sinuses. All the 24 cases were examined by CT and 8 of them were examined by MRI. The maxillary sinuses were the commonest to be involved by malignant lesions, followed by the ethmoid sinuses. The most prevalent CT findings were soft tissue mass, sinus opacification and direct extension to the surrounding structures with bone destruction and/or erosion. Most of these lesions [15/24] showed homogenous enhancement after contrast media injection. MRI study showed hypo to isointensities in T1 and iso to hyperintensities in T2 weighted images in all the lesions and showed enhancement after gadolinium injection. The relative efficacy of MRI and CT in assessing the eight cases with malignant lesions revealed that MRI was superior in mapping tumor margins and CT was superior in demonstrating bony changes and calcifications. These information are important in determining treatment policy for such patients