Clinical Routine and Necessary Advances in Soft Tissue Tumor Imaging Based on the ESSR Guideline: Initial Findings

TY - JOUR

T1 - Clinical Routine and Necessary Advances in Soft Tissue Tumor Imaging Based on the ESSR Guideline: Initial Findings

AU - Korthaus, Alexander

AU - Weiss, Sebastian

AU - Barg, Alexej

AU - Salamon, Johannes

AU - Schlickewei, Carsten

AU - Frosch, Karl-Heinz

AU - Priemel, Matthias

PY - 2022/6/17

Y1 - 2022/6/17

N2 - Soft tissue sarcomas are malignant diseases with a complex classification and various histological subtypes, mostly clinically inconspicuous appearance, and a rare occurrence. To ensure safe patient care, the European Society of Musculoskeletal Radiology (ESSR) issued a guideline for diagnostic imaging of soft tissue tumors in adults in 2015. In this study, we investigated whether implementation of these guidelines resulted in improved MRI protocol and report quality in patients with soft tissue sarcomas in our cancer center. All cases of histologically confirmed soft tissue sarcomas that were treated at our study center from 2006 to 2018 were evaluated retrospectively. The radiological reports were examined for their compliance with the recommendations of the ESSR. Patients were divided into two groups, before and after the introduction of the 2015 ESSR guidelines. In total, 103 cases of histologically confirmed sarcomas were studied. The distribution of, age, gender, number of subjects, performing radiology, and MRI indication on both groups did not show any significant differences. Only using the required MRI sequences showed a significant improvement after the introduction of the guidelines (p = 0.048). All other criteria, especially the requirements for the report of findings, showed no improvement. The guidelines of the European Society for Musculoskeletal Radiology are not regularly followed, and their establishment did not consistently improve MRI quality in our study group. This poses a risk for incorrect or delayed diagnosis and, ultimately, therapy of soft tissue tumors. However, this study is the first of its kind and involves a limited collective. A European-wide multicenter study would be appreciated to confirm these results.

AB - Soft tissue sarcomas are malignant diseases with a complex classification and various histological subtypes, mostly clinically inconspicuous appearance, and a rare occurrence. To ensure safe patient care, the European Society of Musculoskeletal Radiology (ESSR) issued a guideline for diagnostic imaging of soft tissue tumors in adults in 2015. In this study, we investigated whether implementation of these guidelines resulted in improved MRI protocol and report quality in patients with soft tissue sarcomas in our cancer center. All cases of histologically confirmed soft tissue sarcomas that were treated at our study center from 2006 to 2018 were evaluated retrospectively. The radiological reports were examined for their compliance with the recommendations of the ESSR. Patients were divided into two groups, before and after the introduction of the 2015 ESSR guidelines. In total, 103 cases of histologically confirmed sarcomas were studied. The distribution of, age, gender, number of subjects, performing radiology, and MRI indication on both groups did not show any significant differences. Only using the required MRI sequences showed a significant improvement after the introduction of the guidelines (p = 0.048). All other criteria, especially the requirements for the report of findings, showed no improvement. The guidelines of the European Society for Musculoskeletal Radiology are not regularly followed, and their establishment did not consistently improve MRI quality in our study group. This poses a risk for incorrect or delayed diagnosis and, ultimately, therapy of soft tissue tumors. However, this study is the first of its kind and involves a limited collective. A European-wide multicenter study would be appreciated to confirm these results.

KW - Adult

KW - Humans

KW - Radiography

KW - Radiology

KW - Retrospective Studies

KW - Sarcoma/diagnostic imaging

KW - Soft Tissue Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging

U2 - 10.3390/tomography8030131

DO - 10.3390/tomography8030131

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 35736879

VL - 8

SP - 1586

EP - 1594

JO - TOMOGRAPHY

JF - TOMOGRAPHY

SN - 2379-1381

IS - 3

ER -