Prediction of histological grade of endometrial cancer by means of MRI

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the ability of MRI in predicting histological grade of endometrial cancer (EC). Methods IRB-approved retrospective study; requirement for informed consent was waived. 90 patients with histologically proven EC who underwent preoperative MRI and surgery at our Institution between Sept2011 and Nov2016 were included. Myometrial invasion ( 50%) was assessed. Neoplasm and uterus volumes were estimated according to the ellipsoid formula; neoplasm/uterus volume ratio (N/U) was calculated. ADC maps were generated and histogram analysis was performed using commercially available software. MRI parameters were compared with the definitive histological grade (G1 = 28 patients, G2 = 29, G3 = 33) using ANOVA and Tukey-Kramer tests. Results Deep myometrial invasion was significantly more frequent in G2-G3 lesions than in G1 ones (p  Conclusions N/U ratio >0.13 and deep myometrial invasion are significantly correlated with high grade EC, whereas ADC values are not useful for predicting EC grade.