Testicular Cancer Diagnosis Using Noninvasive MRI

Researchers have found that noninvasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a good diagnostic tool for the evaluation and staging of testicular cancer and may improve patient care by sparing some men unnecessary surgery.

The study was published in the March 2010 issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR). "Medical imaging plays an important role in the investigation of testicular masses,” said Athina C. Tsili, M.D., from the University Hospital of Ioannina (Ioannina, Greece), and lead author of the study. "Sonography, although the primary imaging technique for the evaluation of scrotal contents, does not always allow confident characterization of the nature of a testicular mass. The purpose of our study was to assess the role of MRI in the preoperative characterization and local staging of testicular masses,” said Dr. Tsili.

Earlier surgery and histologic examination revealed 28 malignant and 8 benign lesions in 33 patients. "Of those 36 lesions, MRI correctly identified all 28 malignant lesions and 7/8 benign lesions,” Dr. Tsili, said. "A possible diagnosis of benign lesion based on MRI features may improve patient care and decrease the number of unnecessary surgical procedures. MRI is an efficient diagnostic tool for the evaluation of testicular masses. It is accurate in the preoperative differentiation of benign and malignant masses, facilitating accurate estimation of the local extent of disease in patients with malignant tumors.”

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University Hospital of Ioannina