title: Magnetic resonance imaging aspects of giant-cell tumours of bone.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study aimed to describe the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features of giant-cell tumours of bone.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analysed the clinical and MRI features of patients diagnosed with giant-cell tumours of bone confirmed by histopathology at our institution between 2010 and 2012.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The peak incidence was between the second and third decades of life. There was no gender predominance. The most frequent locations were the knee and wrist. Pain and swelling were the prevailing symptoms. Fifty-one per cent of the patients were found to have associated secondary aneurysmal bone cysts on histopathology. On MRI, lesions demonstrated signal intensity equal to that of skeletal muscle on T1-weighted images and low signal intensity on T2-weighted images in 90% of cases. In gadolinium-enhanced T1-weighted images, 76.6% of cases demonstrated heterogeneous enhancement. We observed cystic components involving more than 50% of the lesion in 17 cases (56.6%). There was extra-osseous involvement in 13 cases (43.3%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MRI offers a valuable diagnostic tool for giant-cell tumours of bone. Contrast-enhanced MRI can distinguish between cystic and solid components of the tumour. MRI is also the imaging modality of choice for evaluation of soft-tissue involvement, offering a complete preoperative diagnosis.
authors.affiliation: National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Helcio Mendonça
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Edson
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marchiori
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Severo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D018212:Giant Cell Tumor of Bone / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: MRI; X-ray; aneurysmal bone cyst; bone tumour; giant-cell tumour of bone