Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) have an excellent safety profile. However, over the last 2 decades, two specific concerns have surfaced. GBCAs are associated with nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) and tissue retention of gadolinium. NSF is a rare fibrosing disorder with a poor prognosis, which is characterized by skin and subcutaneous thickening as well as systemic manifestations. The disease has been reported exclusively in patients with advanced renal disease, and it is associated with higher doses and specific types of GBCAs. The number of new cases of NSF has fallen over the past decade, presumably because of adherence by health care providers to regulatory guidelines, which continue to evolve. While gadolinium retention has been known to occur in the liver and bones, the relatively recent findings of deposition and retention in the brain have reignited the debate concerning the safety profile of GBCAs. Despite these concerns, there have been no proven health effects related to gadolinium deposition and retention other than NSF. The authors review the different categories of GBCAs available for commercial use, discuss NSF and gadolinium retention in the brain, and provide updates on the latest U.S. and European regulatory guidelines regarding use of these agents. Given the frequency with which GBCAs are used in clinical practice, it is imperative for all radiologists to learn the current guidelines to provide the safest and highest quality of patient care. ©
The purpose of this review is to showcase the added value of scrotal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the workup of neoplastic and non-neoplastic entities. While ultrasound (US) remains the first-line imaging modality for evaluating scrotal pathology, MRI may add valuable information, particularly when US findings are equivocal. The inherent soft tissue resolution characteristics of MRI, as well as the ability to detect subtle enhancement and provide wider field-of-view imaging, can prove useful in evaluating inconclusive US findings. The added value of MR in these instances is critical as it may have a significant impact on patient management.
Ovarian neoplasms can be categorized on the basis of histopathologic features into epithelial surface cell tumors, germ cell tumors, sex cord-stromal tumors, and metastases. While their imaging appearance is often nonspecific, it closely parallels the gross pathologic appearance, and radiologic-pathologic correlation is helpful to aid in a deeper understanding of the subtypes. Epithelial cell neoplasms are the most common category, and they can be benign, borderline, or malignant. Specific subtypes include serous (most common), mucinous, seromucinous, endometrioid, clear cell, Brenner, and undifferentiated. High-grade serous cystadenocarcinoma accounts for the majority of malignant ovarian tumors and the most ovarian cancer deaths. While serous neoplasms are often unilocular and bilateral, mucinous neoplasms are larger, unilateral, and multilocular. Solid components, thickened septa, and papillary projections, particularly with vascularity, indicate borderline or malignant varieties. Endometrioid and clear cell carcinomas can arise within endometriomas. Fibrous tumors (cystadenofibroma, adenofibroma, fibroma or fibrothecoma, and Brenner tumors) demonstrate low T2-weighted signal intensity of their solid components, while teratomas contain lipid. The nonspecific imaging appearance of additional malignant ovarian germ cell tumors can be narrowed with tumor marker profiles. Sex cord-stromal tumors are often solid, and secondary signs from their hormonal secretion can be a clue to their diagnosis. The authors review the anatomy of the ovary and distal fallopian tube, the proposed origins of the histologic subtypes of tumors, the clinical features and epidemiology of ovarian neoplasms, and the applications of US, CT, and MRI in imaging ovarian neoplasms. The main focus is on the radiologic and pathologic features of the multiple ovarian neoplasm subtypes. An algorithmic approach to the diagnosis of ovarian neoplasms is presented.
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