Enhancement of ovarian malignancy on clinical contrast enhanced MRI studies

Purpose. To assess if there is a significant difference in enhancement of high grade serous carcinoma of the ovary compared with other ovarian malignancies on clinically performed contrast enhanced MRI studies. Methods. In this institutional-review-board-approved study, two radiologists reviewed contrast enhanced MRI scans in 37 patients with ovarian cancer. Readers measured the signal intensity (SI) of ovarian mass and gluteal fat pre- and postcontrast administration. Percentage enhancement (PE) was calculated as [(post-pre)/precontrast SI] × 100. Results. Pathology revealed 19 patients with unilateral and 18 patients with bilateral malignancies for a total of 55 malignant ovaries-high grade serous carcinoma in 25/55 ovaries (45%), other epithelial carcinomas in 12 ovaries (22%), nonepithelial cancers in 8 ovaries (14%), and borderline tumors in 10 ovaries (18%). Enhancement of high grade serous carcinoma was not significantly different from other invasive ovarian malignancies (Reader 1 P = 0.865; Reader 2 P = 0.353). Enhancement of invasive ovarian malignancies was more than borderline tumors but did not reach statistical significance (Reader 1P = 0.102; Reader 2 P = 0.072). Conclusion. On clinically performed contrast enhanced MRI studies, enhancement of high grade serous ovarian carcinoma is not significantly different from other ovarian malignancies.