Soft Tissue Metastasis in Patients with Primary Malignancies; Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Clinical Evaluations

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of soft tissue metastases distinct from benign soft tissue lesions. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the MRI findings of soft tissue lesions found incidentally in patients with primary carcinoma and those without primary carcinoma from 2002–2015. To evaluate the features of soft tissue metastases distinct from benign soft tissue lesions, patients with benign soft tissue lesions were randomly selected and statistically analyzed for the distinctive features of the two groups. Results: A total of 47 patients (mean age 46.2 years) and 36 controls (mean age 46.2 years) were enrolled. Thirty six of the 47 patients were diagnosed with soft tissue metastasis, most commonly as the primary cancer (31%). The most common site of soft tissue metastasis was the lower extremities (36%) followed by the upper extremities (31%). Soft tissue metastasis was statistically significantly different from benign soft tissue lesions according to patient age, lesion size, margin, presence of degenerative changes in lesions, and presence of edema around the mass. Conclusion: If the incident soft tissue lesion shows malignant features on MRI in patients with primary carcinoma or in patients over 40 years of age, the radiologist should consider the possibility of metastatic cancer.

Keywords

• soft tissue neoplasms
• metastasis
• carcinoma
• magnetic resonance imaging