Mri Evaluation of Spinal Cord Tumours With Histopathological Correlation

Abstract

BACKGROUND Spinal cord tumours are relatively rare tumours and can present with a wide variety of symptoms. If they are not diagnosed early and treated immediately, they can lead to neurological deficits and disability. Therefore, accurate diagnosis is necessary, which will help in directing the therapy. Nowadays, MRI is the most commonly used modality for spinal cord tumour diagnosis unless there is a contraindication. The aim of this study was to study the demographic profile of patients with spinal cord tumours to assess the distribution, features, localisation and extent of spinal cord tumours by MRI and correlate the tissue characterisation by MRI with that of histopathological examination. MATERIALS AND METHODS A prospective study was conducted in the Departments of Radiodiagnosis, Neurosurgery and Pathology at SCBMCH, Cuttack, from October 2010 to October 2012. 52 patients diagnosed as having spinal cord tumours by clinical examination and MRI were followed till post-surgery discharge. RESULTS Out of the 52 patients with spinal cord tumours, 28 patients (54%) were males and females made up around 46% (24 patients). Around 6% of the patients were in the paediatric age group. Our study showed that intradural extramedullary tumours 36/52 (69%) were the commonest followed by intramedullary tumours 10/52 (19%) and extradural tumours 6/52 (12%). Overall, schwannoma was the commonest spinal cord tumour accounting for 46.1% of the tumours. Out of 52 cases, MRI diagnosed 46 cases (88.46%) correctly and misdiagnosed 6 cases. MRI was able to correctly diagnose 91.67% of the intradural extramedullary tumours, 90% of the intramedullary tumours and 66.67% of the extradural tumours. CONCLUSION MRI is the preoperative investigation of choice in the evaluation of spinal cord tumours. MRI can accurately diagnose spinal tumours and guide surgical resection.