Ovarian Brenner tumors: MR imaging characteristics

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Oncology
• Pathology

Background:

• Brenner tumors are a type of ovarian neoplasm.
• Accurate preoperative diagnosis of ovarian tumors is crucial for appropriate management.
• Distinguishing Brenner tumors from other ovarian masses can be challenging on imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the magnetic resonance (MR) imaging appearance of Brenner tumors.
• To compare quantitative signal intensity (SI) measurements of Brenner tumors with other ovarian tumors.
• To evaluate the utility of MR imaging in differentiating Brenner tumors.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of MR imaging and pathology records for patients with Brenner tumors.
• MR imaging performed at 1.5 T using phased array multicoils and fast spin echo T2-weighted sequences.
• Quantitative analysis of signal intensity ratios (SIR) comparing mass SI to muscle SI on T1- and T2-weighted images.
• Comparison of SIR between Brenner tumors and a control group of 21 patients with other ovarian masses.

Main Results:

• Brenner tumors demonstrated significantly lower SIR on T2-weighted images compared to other ovarian tumors (p = 0.004).
• SIR on T1-weighted images was similar between Brenner tumors and other ovarian tumors.
• Lower signal intensity on T2-weighted images suggests a higher fibrous content in Brenner tumors.

Conclusions:

• Brenner tumors typically display lower signal intensity on T2-weighted MR imaging than other non-fibrous ovarian tumors.
• This characteristic MR imaging finding may be related to the extensive fibrous stroma within Brenner tumors.
• Quantitative SI measurements, particularly on T2-weighted images, may aid in the preoperative differentiation of Brenner tumors.