title: An analysis of factors related to the tail-like pattern of myxofibrosarcoma seen on MRI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Myxofibrosarcoma (MFS) is characterized by a high frequency of local recurrence after surgery because of infiltrative growth of the tumor cells. This infiltrative growth creates a characteristic 'tail-like' pattern on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and it has been reported that this pattern is especially obvious on gadolinium-enhanced MRI (Gd MRI). However, the relationship between the tail-like pattern seen on Gd MRI and clinicopathological features of MFS is still not clear. In this study, we performed a retrospective analysis to identify clinicopathological factors related to the tail-like pattern of the MRI findings in patients with MFS.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively analyzed 50 patients with MFS to identify factors related to the tail-like pattern.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On Gd MRI, 32 of the 50 patients presented the tail-like pattern, whereas 18 presented a solid pattern. The clincopathological factors related to the tail-like pattern were evaluated by chi-squared test. A superficial origin (p = 0.0009) was most significantly related to the tail-like pattern. The 5-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate was 75.6 % for patients showing the tail-like pattern and 90.9 % for those showing the solid pattern. The corresponding 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) rates were 64.7 and 79.3 %, respectively. Thus in terms of both 5-year RFS and DFS, patients with the tail-like pattern tended to have a poorer outcome.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A superficial origin of MFS is significantly related to a tail-like pattern on Gd MRI. The tail-like pattern is associated with poorer prognosis. Further studies of tumor depth and the tail-like pattern on Gd MRI are needed.
authors.affiliation: Division of Orthopedic Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital, 5-1-1, Chuo-ku, 104-0045, Tokyo, Japan, kkikuta922@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Kazutaka
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kikuta
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Hideo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morioka
authors.forename: Yoshiaki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Toyama
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chuuman
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003287:Contrast Media; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005350:Fibroma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005354:Fibrosarcoma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005682:Gadolinium; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012983:Soft Tissue Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D005682:Gadolinium