Preoperative Staging of Uterine Cervical Carcinoma

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare CT and MRI at 0.5 T in the preoperative staging of uterine cervical cancer in a large series of patients. Ninety-nine patients with uterine cervical carcinoma underwent CT, MRI, and surgical exploration. Both CT and MR findings were compared using surgical-pathologic findings as gold standards. Magnetic resonance imaging was superior to CT in tumor detection (sensitivity 75 vs. 51%, p < 0.005), in parametrial evaluation (accuracy 87 vs. 80%, p < 0.005), in overall tumor staging (accuracy 77 vs. 69%, p < 0.025), and in pelvic lymph node evaluation (accuracy 88 vs. 83%, p < 0.01). Magnetic resonance imaging had an accuracy of 76% in assessment of the thickness of cervical stromal invasion. Magnetic resonance imaging was superior to CT in preoperative staging of uterine cervical carcinoma and MRI should be used instead of CT for preoperative staging of this disease.