Primary bone tumor resectability: the value of serial MRI studies in the determination of the feasibility, timing, and extent of tumor resection.

We report the prospective analysis of 119 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in 41 patients with primary bone tumors performed from January 1984 to December 1990 to evaluate the contribution of serial MRI studies in the determination of feasibility, timing, and extent of tumor resection. Long repetition time (TR)-long echo time (TE) T2-weighted (T2, second echo) imaging was the most useful in assessing soft-tissue involvement, and short TR-short TE T1-weighted (T1) imaging for documenting the bone marrow changes. The feasibility, timing, and extent of resection was determined with the help of MRI in 20 cases with only two local recurrences. One study falsely suggested active tumor. In four other cases, a treatment decision was made based on the MRI. The MRI added significantly to the evaluation by computed tomography, radiographs, and bone scans.