title: MRI for staging lymphoma: whole-body or less?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether whole-body MRI detects more clinically relevant lesions (i.e., leading to a change in Ann Arbor stage) than an MRI protocol that only includes the head/neck and trunk (i.e., from cranial vertex to groin, excluding the arms) in patients with lymphoma.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred consecutive patients with newly diagnosed lymphoma prospectively underwent T1-weighted and T2-weighted short inversion time inversion recovery whole-body MRI. The number of lymphomatous sites at MRI with a field of view (FOV) limited to the head/neck and trunk, and the additional number of lymphomatous sites at whole-body MRI and their influence on Ann Arbor stage were determined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At MRI with a FOV limited to the head/neck and trunk, 507 sites were classified as lymphomatous. At whole-body MRI, 7 additional sites outside the head/neck and trunk in 7 patients (7.0%; 95% confidence interval: 3.4-13.8%) were classified as lymphomatous, but Ann Arbor stage never changed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Whole-body MRI did not detect any clinically relevant lesions outside the FOV of an MRI protocol that only includes the head/neck and trunk. Therefore, it may be sufficient to only include the head/neck and trunk when using MRI for staging lymphoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. thomaskwee@gmail.com
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Kwee
authors.forename: Erik M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Akkerman
authors.forename: Rob
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fijnheer
authors.forename: Marie José
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kersten
authors.forename: József
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zsíros
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ludwig
authors.forename: Marc B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Bierings
authors.forename: Malou A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Vermoolen
authors.forename: Maarten S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: van Leeuwen
authors.forename: Jaap
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Stoker
authors.forename: Rutger A J
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Nievelstein
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001706:Biopsy; D005260:Female; D006689:Hodgkin Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008228:Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000379:methods*