A. Vives et al., IS MRI HELPFUL IN EVALUATING THE RESPONSE OF CERVICAL-CANCER TO NEOADJUVANT CHEMOTHERAPY, Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica, 74(6), 1995, pp. 467-471
Background. To assess the potential role of magnetic resonance imaging
(MRI) in evaluating the response of cervical tumor to neoadjuvant che
motherapy. Methods. We studied 14 patients with locally advanced carci
noma of the cervix. MRI was performed before and after each cycle. All
patients underwent laparotomy four weeks after the last cycle. MR ima
ges after chemotherapy were compared with surgical-pathologic findings
. Results. Related to parametrial state after chemotherapy, surgical e
xamination correlated with MRI in nine patients (nine true negative).
In three cases parametrial invasion was overestimated (three false-pos
itive) and in two it was underestimated, so that tumor resection was n
ot possible once laparotomy was performed (two false-negative). MRI es
timation of tumor size was confirmed at pathologic examination in only
eight patients, whilst it was overestimated in the other four ones. C
onclusions. These initial results suggest that MRI could not be as pre
cise for cervix cancer staging and evaluation of response to chemother
apy as has recently been postulated. This is especially important sinc
e a false negative result may induce the surgeon to perform laparotomy
in error in cases of unresectable tumors.