MR imaging features of pelvic mucinous carcinomas

Mucinous carcinomas in the pelvis differ from non-mucinous tumors because of the differences in clinical outcome and imaging appearance. Mucinous rectal carcinomas, for example, are known to be higher in stage at the time of the diagnosis because they are more likely to be infiltrative and show a greater tendency for recurrence. These factors may lead to a poorer prognosis in patients with the mucinous as compared with non-mucinous carcinomas. Mucinous carcinomas of all types typically show high signal intensity on T2-weighted MR images, and therefore mimic other conditions such as necrotic tumors, fluid collections, cysts, or liver hemangiomas. To familiarize readers with the MRI appearance, and to avoid pit-falls, this paper illustrates the MRI features of the mucinous adenocarcinomas in various pelvic organs.