title: Is magnetic resonance imaging useful in early evaluation of women on neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced cervical cancer?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in staging cervical tumors after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT).
  
  
  METHODS
  26 women, affected by locally advanced cervical cancer and triaged for surgery after NACT, were submitted to three cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy. All patients were submitted to MRI before and after NACT. We evaluated the MRI sensitivity and specificity in staging cervical tumors after chemotherapy, relating MRI findings after NACT with the pathological findings as the gold standard.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In our series, MRI sensitivity was 58.8% and specificity was 66.7%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In our study MRI accuracy after NACT was lower than that of MRI used to stage patients with early cervical cancer scheduled for primary surgery, reported by the literature. MRI false negative cases are the major problem because of the delay in application of an effective therapy in non responders to NACT.
authors.affiliation: Operative Unit of Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, San Martino Hospital, University of Genoa, Italy. paolsala@gmail.com
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sala
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Marchiolè
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cittadini
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valenzano Menada
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moioli
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mammoliti
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Costantini
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002945:Cisplatin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007069:Ifosfamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D017239:Paclitaxel; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D043823:Taxoids / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D043823:Taxoids; D017239:Paclitaxel; D002945:Cisplatin; D007069:Ifosfamide