Table 3.
MRI in preoperative diagnosis of uterine mass.
| Sequences | The Authors of the Study | The Year of the Study | The Number of Patients | Main Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 and T2 | Tanaka et al. [79]. | 2004 | 24 women (including nine ULMS and 12 cases, in which gynecologists suspected leiomyosarcomas) | The presence of high SI on T2WI and any small high-signal areas on T1WI with unenhanced regions were characteristic for ULMS. |
| Nagai et al. [14]. | 2014 | 63 women (including nine ULMS and 42 ULM) | MRI findings were used as one of the components in the PREoperative Sarcoma Score (PRESS). | |
| Ando et al. [76]. | 2018 | 509 women with 1137 uterine smooth muscle tumors (including 14 ULMS and 1118 ULM) | Hyper-intense areas on T1WI of ULM were characterized by more homogeneity, better demarcation, smaller occupying rate and higher signal intensity than hyper-intense areas on T1WI of ULMS. | |
| Lakhman et al. [81]. | 2016 | 41 women (22 atypical ULM, 19 ULMS) | Three or more qualitative MR features (nodular borders, hemorrhage, “T2 dark” area(s) and central unenhanced area (s)) were helpful in ULM and ULMS differentiation. ULMS on T2WI was characterized by intermediate signal and irregular margins. | |
| Hélage et al. [74]. | 2021 | 50 women (including 19 ULMS) | ULMS on T2WI was characterized by intermediate signal and irregular margins. | |
| Jagannathan et al. [88]. | 2021 | 44 women (including 19 with ULMS and 25 with ULM) | Seven out of 15 MR imaging features were found to be useful to distinguish ULMS and ULM. | |
| DWI | Takeuchi et al. [83]. | 2009 | 34 women (including one ULMS and 27 ULM) | High SI on DWI with low ADC was more characteristic for malignant than for benign masses. |
| Tasaki et al. [84]. | 2015 | 144 women with 168 lesions (including six ULMS and 159 ULM) | ADC is helpful in benign and malignant tumors with high SI on T2WI and DWI differentiation. | |
| Li et al. [85]. | 2017 | 42 women (including 16 ULMS and 26 degenerated ULM) | The mean ADC value in ULMS was significantly lower compared to degenerated ULM. | |
| Hélage et al. [74]. | 2021 | 50 women (including 19 ULMS) | ADC values lesser or equal 0.86 × 10−3 mm2/s were suggestive of malignancy |