Soft-Tissue Tumors and Tumorlike Lesions: A Systematic Imaging Approach

• Published in: Radiology Vol. 253; no. 2; pp. 297 - 316
• Main Authors: WU, Jim S, HOCHMAN, Mary G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oak Brook, IL Radiological Society of North America 01.11.2009
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Diagnosis, Differential; Ganglion Cysts - diagnosis; Hemangioma - diagnosis; Hematoma - diagnosis; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); Lipoma - diagnosis; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Medical sciences; Myositis Ossificans - diagnosis; Nerve Sheath Neoplasms - diagnosis; Neuroma - diagnosis; Soft Tissue Neoplasms - classification; Soft Tissue Neoplasms - diagnosis; Radiology; Nuclear medicine; Tumor; Soft tissue; Lesion
• ISSN: 0033-8419; 1527-1315
• DOI: 10.1148/radiol.2532081199

Soft-tissue lesions are frequently encountered by radiologists in everyday clinical practice. Characterization of these soft-tissue lesions remains problematic, despite advances in imaging. By systematically using clinical history, lesion location, mineralization on radiographs, and signal intensity characteristics on magnetic resonance images, one can (a) determine the diagnosis for the subset of determinate lesions that have characteristic clinical and imaging features and (b) narrow the differential diagnosis for lesions that demonstrate indeterminate characteristics. If a lesion cannot be characterized as a benign entity, the lesion should be reported as indeterminate, and the patient should undergo biopsy to exclude malignancy.