MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING IN THE EVALUATION OF ADNEXAL MASSES: DIAGNOSTIC PERFORMANCE AND CLINICAL APPLICABILITY

Abstract

The evaluation of adnexal masses represents a significant diagnostic challenge in gynecological practice due to the wide variety of benign and malignant presentations. In this context, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as a complementary method to ultrasonography, offering greater tissue characterization capacity and contributing to higher diagnostic accuracy. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of MRI in differentiating between benign and malignant lesions, emphasizing measures such as sensitivity and specificity. This is a systematic literature review conducted in the PubMed and Virtual Health Library databases, considering studies published in the last five years, with defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, and analyzed according to PRISMA recommendations. Eleven studies were selected for qualitative analysis. The results demonstrated that MRI exhibits high diagnostic performance, with high sensitivity and good specificity, particularly when associated with standardized systems such as O-RADS MRI. The integrated analysis of morphological and functional characteristics, including diffusion and ADC, proved fundamental in differentiating lesions. In the discussion, consistency was observed among the studies, highlighting the superiority of MRI in cases indeterminate on ultrasound and its relevance in clinical practice. It is concluded that MRI is an essential tool in the evaluation of adnexal masses, contributing to safer clinical decisions and a reduction in unnecessary interventions.