Advanced imaging of carcinoma of the mandibular gingiva.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the validity of MRI in detecting spread of mandibular gingival carcinoma within the bone marrow. SCHEME: Three patients with mandibular gingival carcinoma were examined by panoramic radiography, CT, MRI and radionuclide scanning. The resected mandibles were examined histologically for invasion of bone marrow by the tumor.


RESULTS
With MRI the bone marrow in all cases had a low signal intensity on the T1-weighted images, a high signal intensity on the T2-weighted, and high signal intensity on the contrast-enhanced T1-weighted. In one case there was an obvious evidence of tumor invasion of the bone marrow histologically, but in two cases only dilatation of the blood vessels and evidence of hemorrhage associated with tumor.


CONCLUSIONS
MRI is not specific for detecting tumor invasion of bone marrow in mandibular gingival carcinoma.
Nagata
Y
Y
Department of Dental Radiology, Kyusyu Dental College, Japan.
Ohba
T
T
Tahara
T
T
Masumi
T
T
D000368:Aged; D019046:Bone Marrow Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D005887:Gingival Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008339:Mandibular Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D009361:Neoplasm Invasiveness; D011859:Radiography; D015203:Reproducibility of Results