Evaluation of Usefulness of MRI Short Inversion Time Inversion Recovery Sequences in Routine Examination for Gynecologic Tumors: Comparison with T1- and T2- Weighted Spin Echo.
10.2185/jjrm.48.875
- Author:
Satoru TAKEUCHI
;
Miho SENUMA
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
STIR;
MRI;
gynecologic tumor
- From:Journal of the Japanese Association of Rural Medicine
2000;48(6):875-883
- CountryJapan
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: The Short Inversion Time Inversion Recovery (STIR) is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique that minimizes fat signals and produces images different from those obtained by T1-and T2-weighted spin echo (SE). In imaging of gynecologic tumors, T1-and T2-weighted SE sequences have been routinely used. However, the usefulness of STIR in routine MRI examinations for detecting gynecologic tumors has not been reported. So we studied the STIR images in comparison with T1- and T2-weighted SE images.
METHODS: One hundred twenty-one patients with uterine tumors, normal uterus and ovarian tumors who were examined with T1-and T2-weighted SE and STIR between December 1997 and October 1998 were enrolled as subjects. Results of MRI using both techniques were evaluated and images were graded CLEAR, SLIGHTLY CLEAR and UNCLEAR.
RESULTS: As for boundaries between the uterus with uterine tumors, normal uterus, and the pelvic organs, CLEAR accounted for 68.7% of the images on T1- weighted SE, 42.2% on T2-weighted SE and 74.7% on STIR. There were significant differences between T2-weighted SE, and T1-weighted SE (P<.0001) and STIR (P<.0001). In identification of the inner structure of the uterine tumors, CLEAR was 6.3% on T1-weighted SE, 82.5% on T2-weighted SE and 82.5% on STIR. There was no significant difference between T2-weighted SE and STIR. In identification of the inner structure of the tumors, the cases, one is CLEAR and the other is UNCLEAR, are 7 (T2- weighted SE, CLEAR) and 6 (STIR, CLEAR) (total 13) in uterine tumors and 3 (T2- weighted SE, CLEAR) in ovarian tumors.
CONCLUSION: STIR imaging should be used more in a routine MRI examination for gynecologic tumors in addition to ordinary spin echo sequences for T1-and T2- weighted images.
