Uterine cervical carcinoma: a comparison of two- and three-dimensional T2-weighted turbo spin-echo MR imaging at 3.0 T for image quality and local-regional staging.

Objective: To compare three-dimensional (3D) T2-weighted turbo spin-echo (TSE) with multiplanar two-dimensional (2D) T2-weighted TSE for the evaluation of invasive cervical carcinoma. Methods: Seventy-five patients with cervical carcinoma underwent MRI of the pelvis at 3.0 T, using both 5-mm-thick multiplanar 2D (total acquisition time = 12 min 25 s) and 1-mm-thick coronal 3D T2-weighted TSE sequences (7 min 20 s). Quantitative analysis of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and qualitative analysis of image quality were performed. Local-regional staging was performed in 45 patients who underwent radical hysterectomy. Results: The estimated SNR of cervical carcinoma and the relative tumour contrast were significantly higher on 3D imaging ( P < 0.0001). Tumour conspicuity was better with the 3D sequence, but the sharpness of tumour margin was better with the 2D sequence. No significant difference in overall image quality was noted between the two sequences ( P = 0.38). There were no significant differences in terms of the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of parametrial invasion, vaginal invasion, and lymph node metastases. Conclusion: Multiplanar reconstruction 3D T2-weighted imaging is largely equivalent to 2D T2-weighted imaging for overall image quality and staging accuracy of cervical carcinoma with a shorter MR data acquisition, but has limitations with regard to the sharpness of the tumour margin. Key Points: • 3D T2-weighted MR sequence is equivalent to 2D for cervical carcinoma staging. • Coronal 3D acquisitions can reduce the examination time. • SNR and relative tumour conspicuity were significantly higher on 3D sequences. • Reformatted 3D T2-weighted imaging had limitations in sharpness of tumour margin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]