Pneumo-colono- MRI in the diagnosis and stage establishment of colon cancer

MRI findings of 53 consecutive patients with different stages of colonic tumors are presented. All the patients underwent MR-pneumocolonotomography. Imaging was performed on 0.2 T MRI scanner. T1w, T2w sequins and fat suppression mode were obtained with the retrograde administration of negative contrast agent (air). The results were compared surgical findings and histologically. MRI provides accurate assessment of tumor size, structure, staging and its relationship to adjacent tissues. The method is effective in detecting of all kinds of tumor invasion and revealing all relevant metastatic nodes. Therefore MRI is found to be particularly useful in evaluation of volume and strategy of surgical treatment and for planning chemotherapy. (authors)