Diagnosis of malignant lymphoma by magnetic resonance imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of pathological lymphnodes was reviewed in 12 patients with malignant lymphoma. We examined the characteristics of the images and T(1) values of lesions. Short SE was the most appropriate pulse sequence to delineate the lesions. It was intermediate in signal intensity between that of skeletal muscle and that of fat tissue. On IR image, the signal intensity of skeletal muscle or lung tissue was similar to that of lymphnodes, and on long SE image, that of fat tissue was similar to that of lymphnodes. It was difficult to differentiate Hodgkin's disease (HD) from non Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) using only T(1) values. The long SE signal intensity of the latter was higher than that of the former. The distribution of NHL was wider than that of HD. Though MRI has various problems such as long scan time and respiratory motion artifacts, it has various merits which other methods do hot have. We consider MRI to have an important role in the diagnosis and follow up of patients with malignant lymphoma.