Incremental prognostic value of MRI in the staging of early cervical cancer: a prospective study and review of the literature.

This is to evaluate the predictive ability of clinical examination and preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the staging of early cervical cancer. We prospectively evaluated 115 patients with cervical cancer, International Federation of Gynecologic and Obstetrics (FIGO) stage <IIB; receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis determined the predictive ability of MRI, clinical assessment, and their combination for tumor staging. Surgery was the standard of reference. MRI was more accurate than clinical examination for tumor estimate, parametrial or internal os involvement. When combined with MRI, the predictive ability of clinical examination for overall staging [area under the curve (AUC)=0.59, P>.05) increased significantly (AUC=0.84, P<.05). Our results support the official incorporation of MRI into FIGO classification system.