Magnetic resonance imaging in the oncology patient: evaluation of the extrahepatic abdomen.

In the oncology patient MR imaging provides excellent depiction of all forms of extrahepatic tumor. Rapid breath-hold imaging techniques are combined with intravenous and intraluminal contrast material to demonstrate tumors of the solid visceral organs, the gastrointestinal tract, peritoneum, mesentery, omentum, bile ducts, lymph nodes, and osseous structures. The unmatched soft tissue contrast of MR imaging allows one to depict subtle tumors involving all of these extrahepatic sites. MR imaging has become an integral and essential element in the management of oncology patients.