Magnetic resonance imaging of pelvic primary and metastatic tumors

The excellent anatomic details and soft-tissue contrast obtained on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) makes the technique extremely useful for diagnosing and staging pelvic tumors. MRI allows determination of the neoplasm’s origin and aids in the extensive differential diagnosis of pelvic tumors, which may develop in the genitourinary or gastrointestinal systems, peritoneum, retroperitoneum, soft tissues, bone, and lymph nodes, as well as from metastases. MRI is a valuable tool for preoperative evaluation, imaging and characterizing lesions, estimating their extent and the risk of malignancy, distinguishing organ-confined disease from tumor spread into adjacent pelvic structures and inguinal lymph node involvement, and deciding upon the most appropriate intervention strategies and imaging follow-up requirements. It is also the most effective imaging technique for determining the extent of bone marrow involvement by conventional chondrosarcoma. In this chapter, we discuss the use of MRI imaging in several types of pelvic tumors.