[The value of MRT in the diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors of the uterus].

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging gains a more and more important role in the diagnostic assessment of the female pelvis. The free selection of the imaging plane is of particular importance for the visualization of the uterus, and the high soft-tissue contrast presently offers the best possibilities for assessment of the zonal anatomy of the uterus. Advances in coil technology and the use of time-saving pulse sequences that, in addition, yield high-resolution images (e.g., fast spin-echo sequences) have made MR imaging a reliable diagnostic modality with a high image quality. There is no doubt that ultrasound continues to be the most widely used imaging modality besides the clinical examination. However, ultrasound is not only limited by high interexaminer variation but also by an insufficient tissue characterization and, above all, the lacking possibility of staging malignancies. Computed tomography has turned out to be inefficient in determining the local tumor stage due to its poor soft-tissue contrast and should thus only be used in advanced tumor stages. MR imaging, on the other hand, excellently depicts the morphologic details of the female pelvis and helps in the assessment of both benign and malignant masses of the uterus and has the highest diagnostic value in staging malignancies. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that MR imaging is also cost-effective as a pretherapeutic modality in cervical cancer.