MR imaging with gadolinium-DTPA in the differentiation of tumor, syrinx, and cyst of the spinal cord.

Intravenous Gd-diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid was used in 16 patients to differentiate between syringomyelia, syringomyelia in association with tumor, and cystic tumor in the spinal cord. Contrast enhancement occurred in all 12 histologically proven cases of tumor and enabled clear demarcation of neoplastic tissue from syrinx or cyst. Eleven of the twelve tumors seen in association with spinal cord cavitation were malignant; all tumors apart from one (a schwannoma) were intramedullary in location. Enhanced scans were more helpful than unenhanced scans in diagnosing and defining the extent of tumors associated with a syrinx or cyst.