Endometrial carcinoma detection with 3.0 Tesla imaging: which sequence is more useful

Detection of endometrial cancer (EC) is crucial in pre-operative EC management. The study aimed at determining the most reliable sequence in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) evaluation at the EC. Different sequences were compared using histopathological results as the gold standard.

In this retrospective study, 62 women diagnosed with EC were examined using 3 Tesla MR and post-hysterectomy histopathological examination. The MRI protocol included diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), T2 weighted images, Dynamic Contrast T1 weighted images, and ZOOMit DWI. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps were also obtained. ADC maps were calculated for both DWI and ZOOMit DWI. All serial images were analyzed by endometrial distance to account for myometrial invasion and tumor size. All sequences and histopathological results were compared using the paired sample t-test.

In all 32 women, post-hysterectomy histopathological confirmation was obtained. Mean myometrial invasion values were not significantly different after comparing DWI, ZOOM it DWI, and Dynamic contrast enhancement (DCE)-T1WI (p=0.054, p=0.039). The first strong correlation was found between DWI and ZOOMit DWI (0.943). The second was between ZOOMit DWI and DCE-T1 WI (0.949). Comparing each set of sequences, no statistically significant differences in tumor size (p > 0.05) were found. Also, no statistically significant differences between images and histopathological size were found. The ADC values of ZOOMit DWI indicated that this method detected significant differences between EC histological subtypes.

Each sequence is essential and valuable, whereas priorities may vary depending on the desired information. The most valuable sequences for the myometrial invasion were ZOOMit and conventional DWI. T2WI and DCE T1 WI were more valuable sequences the size of EC.