Benign pleomorphic adenomas of the salivary glands: surface coil MR imaging versus CT

High resolution magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of three salivary gland tumors was performed at 1.5 T and compared with CT. Two of the three tumors were well seen on CT. However, one required CT sialography to separate tumor from the remaining parotid parenchyma, and, in the other, soft tissue invasion could not be excluded on the basis of CT. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated sharp tumor margins with no evidence of invasion. All three tumors were pathologically proven benign pleomorphic adenomas confirming the MR findings. On T2 weighted images, the two large adenomas demonstrated inhomogeneity that was not observed on CT.