Urinary bladder neoplasms: evaluation with contrast-enhanced MR imaging.
Forty-eight patients with urinary bladder neoplasms were examined with magnetic resonance imaging before and after intravenous administration of gadolinium diethylene-triaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA). Spin-echo sequences with short repetition and echo times were used in all patients; in 20 a gradient-echo technique was used to perform sequential imaging. In 31 patients ratios of tumor signal intensity to that of fat, muscle, and bone marrow were calculated before and after Gd-DTPA enhancement on T1-weighted spin-echo images. Increases in tumor signal intensity on T1-weighted spin-echo images were statistically significant after contrast enhancement (alpha = 1%, P less than .0001). The average rise in relative signal intensity after contrast enhancement was 120% for the tumor-fat ratio (tumor-marrow ratio, 105%; tumor-muscle ratio, 85%). Tumor signal intensity peaked within 120 seconds and remained on a plateau for up to 45 minutes. Necrotic tissue within the tumor, seen in three cases, was detectable only on contrast-enhanced images.
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Aachen, Medical Faculty, Federal Republic of Germany.
J M
JM
Neuerburg
K
K
Bohndorf
M
M
Sohn
F
F
Teufl
R W
RW
Guenther
H J
HJ
Daus
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002295:Carcinoma, Transitional Cell / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D005682:Gadolinium; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D004369:Pentetic Acid; D001743:Urinary Bladder / Q000473:pathology*; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*
D003287:Contrast Media; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D004369:Pentetic Acid; D005682:Gadolinium; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA