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MR appearance of malignant lymphoma of the uterus
S Kawakami1, K Togashi, N Kojima
1Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Kyoto University, Faculty of Medicine, Japan.
Objective:
The uterus is rarely the initial site of malignant lymphoma. The purpose of this article is to present the MRI of malignant lymphoma of the uterus.
Materials And Methods:
Four cases with pathologically proven malignant lymphoma, in which the uterus was the only and the initial site of recognized visceral involvement, are presented; MRI was retrospectively evaluated.
Results:
All the lesions exhibited homogeneous hypointense signal on T1-weighted imaging and relatively hyperintense signal on T2-weighted imaging. One case exhibited diffuse and uniform enlargement of the uterine corpus and cervix in the presence of preserved endometrium and cervical epithelium. With these findings, a prospective diagnosis of lymphoma was feasible. The three other cases exhibited MR findings that closely resembled those of carcinoma of the cervix. However, in one case, preserved cervical epithelium in the presence of extensive involvement of the cervical stroma may have been a clue to the diagnosis of malignant lymphoma. Involvement of the vagina (three cases) and the urinary bladder (two cases) was clearly identified on MRI.
Conclusion:
Lymphoma of the uterus exhibited various MR appearances; however, specific diagnosis might be feasible in limited cases. In addition, clear visualization of the extent of disease seen on MRI could contribute to clinical decisions about treatment.