Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Diagnosis of Female Adnexal Masses: Comparison With Histopathological Examination

Introduction Adnexal masses present a special diagnostic challenge because it is difficult to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions clinically. The diagnosis of malignancy is vital, and imaging is the most important part of the evaluation of adnexal masses. This study was conducted with the goal of comparing the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in diagnosing female adnexal masses in comparison with histopathology examination (HPE). A total of 70 female patients with suspected adnexal lesions were selected for the study. After obtaining informed consent from the patients, an MRI was performed with a subsequent histopathological examination of the lesion. Results The study revealed that MRI demonstrated 27% non-neoplastic, 47% benign, and 26% malignant lesions. HPE, the gold standard for identifying and classifying pathological masses, positively identified the lesions and classified them as non-neoplastic, surface epithelial-stromal, germ cell, and sex cord-stromal tumors. The present study of 70 cases with adnexal masses showed a strong positive correlation between MRI and HPE findings. Conclusion MRI provides the added advantage of visualization of the tumor matrix with differential identification of the fatty and cystic tissue through heterogeneous signals and enhancement indicating aggressiveness and local spread. MRI has greater diagnostic accuracy when compared to ultrasonography (USG), with HPE as the gold standard for discriminating between benign and malignant adnexal masses.