[Diagnosis of soft tissue tumors: 10 checkpoints]

This review, presents 10 checkpoints for the diagnosis of soft tissue tumors and the MRI reporting method for the general radiologists. The 10 checkpoints consist of the following, (1) clinical information, (2) calcification, (3) characteristic shape, (4) multiplicity, (5) lymph node enlargement, (6) characteristic sign and appearance, (7) internal morphology (fatty component, myxoid matrix, collagenous tissue), (8) flow void, (9) early, strong enhancement, and (10) malignant lymphoma and inflammatory masses for differential diagnosis. A combination of these individual points yields higher sensitivity and specificity for tissue-specific diagnosis and differentiation between benign and malignant lesions. Although pathology will always remain the gold standard in the diagnosis of soft tissue tumors, prediction of a specific histologic diagnosis remains one of the ultimate goals of each imaging technique. Moreover, decisions regarding biopsy and treatment could be simplified if a specific diagnosis or a limited differential diagnosis could be provided on the basis of imaging.