Abstract
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. The aim of the study was to evaluate the use of high resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for differentiation of melanin-containing skin tumors. METHODS. Twenty-seven melanocytic nevi and 18 malignant melanomas were examined by high resolution MRI. Signal intensities and signal-to-noise (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) of the tumors were determined in unenhanced (T1, T2, water-suppression, and fat-suppression sequences) and contrast-enhanced images (T1 and fat-suppression sequences). The differences were tested for significance by a Wilcoxon test. RESULTS. Malignant melanomas differed from melanocytic nevi in that they displayed a higher SNR in T2-weighted and unenhanced and contrast-enhanced fat- suppression scans. Malignant melanomas exhibited a higher CNR than did benign lesions in unenhanced and contrast-enhanced fat-suppression sequences with dermis as reference tissue (P < 0.05) and in enhanced fat-suppression sequences with subcutis as reference tissue (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS. The usefulness of SNR and CNR analysis on MRI for the differentiation of malignant skin tumors from benign skin tumors of the melanin-containing system is limited. Clinical and histologic examinations are, further, the important step in evaluation of melanin-containing skin tumors.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 638-643 |
| Number of pages | 6 |
| Journal | Investigative Radiology |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 1995 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- benign melanocytic nevus
- contrast media
- Magnetic resonance imaging
- melanoma
- skin
- surface coil
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Radiology Nuclear Medicine and imaging
- Radiological and Ultrasound Technology