Configuration of soft-tissue sarcoma on MRI correlates with grade of malignancy
Article Category: Research Article
Published Online: Jan 29, 2021
Page range: 158 - 163
Received: Nov 11, 2020
Accepted: Dec 14, 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/raon-2021-0007
© 2021 Sam Sedaghat, Mona Salehi Ravesh, Maya Sedaghat, Marcus Both, Olav Jansen, published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.
Background
The aim of the study was to assess whether the configuration of primary soft-tissue sarcoma (STS) on MRI correlates with the grade of malignancy.
Patients and methods
71 patients with histologically proven STS were included. Primary STS were examined for configuration, borders, and volume on MRI. The tumors were divided into high-grade (G3), intermediate-grade (G2) and low-grade (G1) STS according to the grading system of the French Federation of Cancer Centers Sarcoma Group (FNCLCC).
Results
30 high-grade, 22 intermediate-grade and 19 low-grade primary STS lesions were identified. High- and intermediate-grade (G3/2) STS significantly most often appeared as polycyclic/multilobulated tumors (p < 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). Low-grade (G1) STS mainly showed an ovoid/nodular or streaky configuration (p = 0.008), and well-defined borders. The appearance of high-, intermediate- and low-grade STS with an ovoid/nodular configuration were mainly the same on MRI. All streaky G3/2 sarcoma and 17 of 20 patients with polycyclic/multilobulated G3 sarcoma showed infiltrative borders. High-grade streaky and polycyclic/multilobulated STS are larger in volume, compared to intermediate- and low-grade STS.
Conclusions
Configuration of STS on MRI can indicate the grade of malignancy. Higher-grade (G2/3) STS most often show a polycyclic/multilobulated configuration, while low-grade STS are mainly ovoid/nodular or streaky. Infiltrative behavior might suggest higher-grade STS in streaky and polycyclic/multilobulated STS.