In patients with cervical cancer, MRI is superior to CT and clinical examination for evaluating uterine body involvement and measuring tumor size, but no method was accurate for evaluating cervical stroma.
Reader agreement was higher for MR imaging than for CT but was low for both. MR imaging was significantly better than CT for tumor visualization and detection of parametrial invasion. The modalities were similar for staging, sharing low sensitivity and PPV but relatively high NPV and specificity.
Ovarian cancer is usually in an advanced stage at diagnosis due to the presence of peritoneal carcinomatosis, which develops as a result of peritoneal fluid circulation. Tumor implants of varying size can occur anywhere from the diaphragm through the pelvis. Computed tomography (CT) can be used to detect these metastatic lesions, which can be miliary or large and appear as soft-tissue or low-attenuation masses. Recent advances in CT technology have increased the flexibility of image acquisition, thereby allowing the use of thin sections and multiplanar reformatting. With multidetector CT, thin-section images of the abdomen and pelvis can be obtained to assess for subcentimeter implants and to create three-dimensional images with reduced artifact. Multiplanar reformatting can be used to confirm the presence of implants. Structures such as the diaphragm, paracolic gutters, bowel, and cul-de-sac can be evaluated in multiple planes for surface nodularity and small implants. Interactive multiplanar review of the abdomen and pelvis has the potential to improve detection of peritoneal metastases at CT.
Cardiac imaging is becoming a practical application of mechanical computed tomography (CT) with the availability of four, eight, and 16 detector row scanners. The role of imaging is progressing from simple determination of the presence of arterial calcifications on nonenhanced scans to demonstration of vascular stenoses on coronary CT angiograms. Optimization of the imaging technique and knowledge of coronary artery anatomy are both important for the development of CT of the heart. Technical factors such as a slow heart rate, a short scanning time, subcentimeter spatial resolution, high temporal resolution, and reconstruction of multiple image data sets at various intervals in the cardiac cycle result in optimal visualization of the coronary arteries. Axial, thin-slab maximum intensity projection, and volume-rendered images are used to display the normal anatomy and anomalies of the coronary arteries. The challenges of CT angiography of the coronary arteries have been partially met and will likely be overcome with continued evolution of the technology.
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