MRI for differentiating primary fallopian tube carcinoma from epithelial ovarian cancer

Abstract

PFTC often appears as a small-sized solid mass, with a sausage-like shape, homogeneous signal, mild or moderate enhancement, hydrosalpinx, or intrauterine fluid accumulation. Our preliminary study shows that MRI can identify the characteristic features of PFTC and differentiate PFTC from EOC.

Primary fallopian tube cancer in the setting of endometriosis

“…PFTC often appears as a small-sized solid mass, with a sausage-like shape, homogeneous signal, mild or moderate enhancement, hydrosalpinx, or intrauterine fluid accumulation. 9 In the present case however the features pointed towards EOC, without any evidence of primary in fallopian tube.…”

Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tubes: a case report

“…4 Incidence of lymphadenopathy is more common (33%) than ovarian malignancies. The tumour spreads by direct spread, trans-luminal spread, lymphatic spread, trans coelomic spread or haematogenous spread.…”

Primary Fallopian Tube Carcinoma

“…However, ascites is not a specific sign of PFTC and is frequently present in ovarian cancer. Intra-uterine fluid, on the other hand, is specific of PFTC and it can occur in up to 30 % of cases (10). So, PFTC can be suspected on MRI in the presence of features related to fallopian tube disease (9).…”

“…Recently Ma et al (10) have outlined the use of MRI features for differentiating PFTC from epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). The characteristic appearance of PFTC is a relatively small, tubular-shaped (or sausage-shaped) mass, with homogenous signal, low signal intensity on T1 images high signal intensity on T2 images, mild to moderate enhancement, and hydrosalpinx or intrauterine fluid.…”

“…Similarly to other gynaecologic tumours, the imaging approach includes ultrasound as the initial modality, followed by MRI and CT. CT is only used for staging purposes and not for pelvic mass characterization due to low softtissue contrast in comparison to MRI (9,10).…”