Diagnosis Advances
Copyright ©2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Radiol. Dec 28, 2013; 5(12): 455-459
Published online Dec 28, 2013. doi: 10.4329/wjr.v5.i12.455
Magnetic resonance imaging of soft-tissue tumors of the extremities: A practical approach
Wing P Chan
Wing P Chan, Department of Radiology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 116, Taiwan
Wing P Chan, Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
Author contributions: Chan WP designed the study and wrote the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Wing P Chan, MD, Professor, Chief, Department of Radiology, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, 111 Hsing-Long Road, Sec 3, Taipei 116, Taiwan. wingchan@tmu.edu.tw
Telephone: +886-2-29307930 Fax: +886-2-29316809
Received: August 13, 2013
Revised: September 22, 2013
Accepted: October 15, 2013
Published online: December 28, 2013
Processing time: 145 Days and 17.6 Hours
Abstract

Diagnosis of extremity soft-tissue tumors can be challenging. Characteristics of tumor margins can help precisely identify locally aggressive or non-aggressive behavior for surgical planning, but cannot differentiate benign from malignant lesions. Most malignant tumors can have inhomogeneous signals on T2-weighted images. Although a uniform signal on T2-weighted images can be a reliable indication of a benign lesion, a well-defined mass with homogeneous internal signal intensity does not definitively identify a benign lesion. Some common and distinctive soft-tissue lesions can have specific clinical and imaging features allowing a diagnosis without biopsy. These are known as determinate lesions. This illustrative report presents a diagnostic guide for extremity soft-tissue tumors based on tissue signal and morphological characteristics on magnetic resonance images. It is important for clinicians to be familiar with the imaging characteristics of common determinate lesions.

Keywords: Extremity; Magnetic resonance imaging; Musculoskeletal neoplasm; Sarcoma; Soft-tissue tumors

Core tip: The aim of this illustrative report is to provide a diagnostic guide for soft-tissue tumors of the extremities based on tissue signal and morphological characteristics on magnetic resonance images.