[Retrospective analysis of 31 cases of soft tissue tumors. Comparison of MR and surgical and anatomo-pathological findings].

Twenty-five patients (16 with malignant soft-tissue tumors and 9 with suspected recurrence), previously studied with conventional radiography and Computed Tomography (CT), were examined with Magnetic Resonance (MR) imaging. MR findings were surgically and anatomo-histopathologically confirmed. Six more patients with benign lesions were examined for differential diagnosis. MR capabilities are here evaluated to detect and eventually characterize the lesion, and to assess its exact location. No false positives were found, and there was only one false negative, in a case of recurrent Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma (MFH). In another case of MFH the infiltration of the adjacent vessels and nerves was not imaged. After a careful review of all the examinations, MR imaging appears to be able to provide much information for surgical planning about tumor extent and margins, thanks to its contrast resolution between tumor and surrounding anatomical structures. Therefore, MR imaging can be reasonably employed as the examination of choice when a soft-tissue tumor is clinically suspected, because of the multi-planar images it provides with and of its differential imaging parameters.