Magnetic resonance screening trial for hepatic metastasis in patients with locally controlled choroidal melanoma.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the value of magnetic resonance (MR) screening for detection of hepatic metastasis in patients with locally controlled choroidal melanoma.


METHODS
MR examinations were performed after an initial diagnosis of choroidal melanoma in 159 patients (mean age 56 years: range, 10-86 years). The MR follow-up interval was 5.2 +/- 1.7 years (range, 1.2-6.6 years). A total of 363 MR studies were reviewed by two radiologists for predominant signal intensity characteristics. Hepatic metastasis was verified by histological examination: tumor resection and CT-guided needle biopsy specimens and/or on the basis of an obvious progression in number and/or size of the lesions on the follow-up MR examination.


RESULTS
The majority of patients underwent MR examinations from one to three times (n = 126, 79%). During a mean follow-up period of 5.7 years, a focal abnormality in the liver was found in 20 patients (13%). Of these, 15 patients (9%) were diagnosed as having hepatic metastasis. The number of the metastatic lesions with a short T1 and short T2 pattern were one (n = 1, 9%), two (n = 2, 18%), three (n = 1, 9%) and multiple (n = 7, 63%). The focal abnormalities of MR examinations in five other patients consisted of vascular artifacts (n = 3, 15%) and cysts with hemorrhage (n = 2, 10%).


CONCLUSIONS
The screening of MR examinations detected hepatic metastasis in 15 of 159 patients (9%) with locally controlled choroidal melanoma.
Maeda
Tetsuo
T
Division of Diagnostic Radiology, Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
Tateishi
Ukihide
U
Suzuki
Shigenobu
S
Arai
Yasuaki
Y
Kim
E Edmund
EE
Sugimura
Kazuro
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D002648:Child; D002830:Choroid Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000556:secondary*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000473:pathology* / Q000556:secondary*; D008875:Middle Aged