Multiparametric MRI in rectal cancer

Özet

MRI has a pivotal role in both pretreatment staging and posttreatment evaluation of rectal cancer.The accuracy of MRI in pretreatment staging is higher compared with posttreatment evaluation.This occurs due to similar signal intensities of tumoral and posttreatment fibrotic, necrotic, andinflamed tissue. This limitation occurs with conventional MRI of the rectum with morphologicsequences. There is a need towards increasing the accuracy of MRI, especially for posttreatmentevaluation. The term multiparametric MRI implies addition of functional sequences, namely, diffusion and perfusion to the routine protocol. This review summarizes the technique, potentialimplications and previously published studies about multiparametric MRI of rectal cancer.