CERVICAL INVASION OF ENDOMETRIAL CARCINOMA - EVALUATION BY PARASAGITTAL MR-IMAGING

Twenty-seven consecutive patients were examined by T2-(1 800/70 ms) an d postcontrast T1-weighted (600/15) spin echo (SE) or dynamic (200/15) SE MR imaging to determine the usefulness of parasagittal MR imaging in assessing cervical invasion of endometrial carcinoma. The images we re obtained in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the ut erus (parasagittal). The cervical epithelium, being hyperintense on th e late phase dynamic and postcontrast T1-weighted SE images, had disap peared partially or totally in all 4 patients with cervical invasion. The enhanced cervical epithelium was completely seen in one patient wi th the tumor protruding into the cervical canal in a polyp-like form w ithout cervical epithelial invasion. The same was also seen in the 22 patients with the tumor remaining in the corpus cavity. The enhanced p arasagittal MR images facilitated the evaluation of the extent of the endometrial carcinoma.