Impact of incorporating Magnetic Resonance Imaging in FIGO Staging of Primary Carcinoma Cervix: Experience from a tertiary cancer center

Background International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging of carcinoma cervix, although essentially clinical, acknowledges the benefits of MRI. The impact of incorporating MRI in staging of cervical cancer and the discordance between clinical-and MRI-based FIGO staging is not well studied, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Aim We aim to study the role and accuracy of MRI in staging carcinoma cervix, its correlation with clinical FIGO and histopathological staging with emphasis on how it can change treatment plan. Methods Retrospective observational cohort study (n = 193) where MRI details of different staging parameters of the study subjects were compared with clinical FIGO staging and histopathology to assess correlation and agreement between them. Change of clinical FIGO stage and hence treatment plan brought about by incorporating MRI was assessed. Results MRI had a tumor detection rate of 94.3%, overall staging accuracy of 78.3% and very strong correlation with histopathology (Spearman's coefficient of rank correlation, r = 0.886). Clinical FIGO and MRI had agreement only in 52.8% cases (r = 0.61). Incorporating MRI changed the clinical stage in 47.2% patients and subsequently modified primary treatment plan in 23.3%. Conclusion MRI is highly accurate in evaluating carcinoma cervix and has good correlation with histopathology. Our data shows low agreement between MRI and clinical FIGO staging. Thus, incorporating MRI in FIGO staging has considerable impact in altering treatment decisions and should be offered to all patients for staging carcinoma cervix.