Magnetic resonance imaging of malignant skin tumors

Growth patterns of malignant cutaneous tumors in 21 patients obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were assessed in contrast with those in histological examinations. Degree of intradermal invasion in MRI pictures of the lesions well corresponded with that in histological examinations. In general, intensity of tumor images was higher on T2 weighted images than T1 weighted images. It is very likely that cellularity, inflammation, edema and degeneration of the lesions may cause the phenomena. MRI seems to be better to analyze tumor invasion arising in head and neck region than other imaging method such as CT scan, xerography and FCR, because MRI enables us to select slice freely, when the lesion occurs in unevenly surfaced region. (author)