Urachal carcinoma: the role of magnetic resonance imaging

Urachal carcinoma is a very rare tumor that occurs primarily in middle-aged and elderly men. Most are mucinous adenocarcinomas. The lesion's poor prognosis primarily reflects its clinically silent behavior in its early stages. Therefore, aids to preoperative diagnosis and tumor staging may be of benefit. Conventional radiographic techniques have not proved very effective at diagnosing urachal lesions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may be particularly useful in this regard, mainly due to its multiplanar imaging capability. We review the clinical, pathological, and radiological features of urachal carcinoma, and include a description of the MRI appearance of two cases.