title: Soft-tissue sarcoma: MR imaging vs sonography for detection of local recurrence after surgery.
abstract: To determine the value of MR and sonography in detecting local recurrences of soft-tissue sarcomas after surgery, 26 MR and sonographic studies performed in 21 patients were reviewed retrospectively. Recurrences were confirmed histologically in 12 (46%) of 26 studies. The MR images and sonograms were obtained within 1 month of each other. The findings were classified as recurrence, no recurrence, or indeterminate. Sonography was instrumental in guiding fine-needle aspiration biopsy of impalpable lesions. In two cases, the findings on sonography were indeterminate. In both of these cases, the sonograms had been obtained soon after surgery (at 2 and 4 months). The sensitivity and specificity in the detection of local recurrences were 83% and 93%, respectively, for MR and 100% and 79%, respectively, for sonography. These differences were not statistically significant. We conclude that MR and sonography appear to be equally useful in the detection of local recurrences of soft-tissue sarcomas, sonography can be used for routine follow-up and in guiding needle biopsies, sonography may be more difficult to interpret than MR during the early postoperative period, and MR should be used if sonography is inconclusive.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Radiology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas, Houston 77030.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: D G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Varma
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Fornage
authors.forename: E E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Johnston
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D005121:Extremities; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012509:Sarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery; D014463:Ultrasonography