title: MR imaging features and staging of neuroendocrine carcinomas of the uterine cervix with pathological correlations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine MR imaging features and staging accuracy of neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) of the uterine cervix with pathological correlations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-six patients with histologically proven NECs, 60 patients with squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), and 30 patients with adenocarcinomas of the uterine cervix were included. The clinical data, pathological findings, and MRI findings were reviewed retrospectively. MRI features of cervical NECs, SCCs, and adenocarcinomas were compared, and MRI staging of cervical NECs was compared with the pathological staging.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cervical NECs showed a higher tendency toward a homogeneous signal intensity on T2-weighted imaging and a homogeneous enhancement pattern, as well as a lower ADC value of tumour and a higher incidence of lymphadenopathy, compared with SCCs and adenocarcinomas (P < 0.05). An ADC value cutoff of 0.90 × 10-3mm2/s was robust for differentiation between cervical NECs and other cervical cancers, with a sensitivity of 63.3 % and a specificity of 95 %. In 21 patients who underwent radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy, the overall accuracy of tumour staging by MR imaging was 85.7 % with reference to pathology staging.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Homogeneous lesion texture and low ADC value are likely suggestive features of cervical NECs and MR imaging is reliable for the staging of cervical NECs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  • Cervical NECs show a tendency of lesion homogeneity and lymphadenopathy • Low ADC values are found in cervical NECs • MRI is an accurate imaging modality for the cervical NEC staging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 107 Yanjiang Road West, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.affiliation: Medical Imaging and Minimally Invasive Interventional Center & State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Cancer Center, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
authors.forename: Xiaohua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Ban
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 107 Yanjiang Road West, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 107 Yanjiang Road West, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
authors.forename: Huijun
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 107 Yanjiang Road West, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
authors.forename: Guozhao
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 107 Yanjiang Road West, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
authors.forename: Dongye
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 107 Yanjiang Road West, Guangzhou, 510120, China.|JMO, Westmead Hospital, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
authors.forename: Charles Qian
authors.initials: CQ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 107 Yanjiang Road West, Guangzhou, 510120, China.
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, No. 107 Yanjiang Road West, Guangzhou, 510120, China. shenjun@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7746-5285
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018278:Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cervical cancer; Diffusion-weighted imaging; Magnetic resonance imaging; Neoplasm staging; Neuroendocrine tumours