CT Area of Interest With IV Contrast Although CT with IV contrast lacks the specificity afforded by MRI in many cases, it does provide useful staging data [32]. In a multi-institutional study of 133 patients with primary soft tissue malignancies, Panicek et al [32] found no statistically significant difference between MRI and contrast-enhanced CT imaging in determining tumor involvement of muscle, bone, joint, or neurovascular structures. Therefore, CT with IV contrast remains an important adjunct in the evaluation of a soft tissue mass. The advent of virtual noncontrast reconstruction with modern dual-source CT scanners allows for acquisition of a single postcontrast scan with reconstruction of virtual noncontrast images, which can preclude the need for a separate precontrast scan phase [31]. Similar to CT without IV contrast [21, 22], virtual noncontrast imaging allows distinction of ossification from calcification and identification of characteristic patterns of mineralization [29,30] and is particularly useful in assessment of mass mineralization in areas where the osseous anatomy is complex or obscured and radiographs would be less sensitive. CT Area of Interest Without and With IV Contrast The advent of virtual noncontrast reconstruction with modern dual-source CT scanners allows for acquisition of a single postcontrast scan with reconstruction of virtual noncontrast images, which can preclude the need for a separate precontrast scan phase [31]. However, a traditional CT without and with IV contrast may be appropriate for characterization of mineralization in an anatomically complex area. Although a multi-institutional study of 133 patients with primary soft tissue malignancies by Panicek et al [32] found no statistically significant difference between MRI and contrast-enhanced CT imaging in determining tumor involvement of muscle, bone, joint, or neurovascular structures, this study did not specifically endorse the usefulness of dual-phase CT without and with IV contrast.
Soft Tissue Masses. CT Area of Interest With IV Contrast Although CT with IV contrast lacks the specificity afforded by MRI in many cases, it does provide useful staging data [32]. In a multi-institutional study of 133 patients with primary soft tissue malignancies, Panicek et al [32] found no statistically significant difference between MRI and contrast-enhanced CT imaging in determining tumor involvement of muscle, bone, joint, or neurovascular structures. Therefore, CT with IV contrast remains an important adjunct in the evaluation of a soft tissue mass. The advent of virtual noncontrast reconstruction with modern dual-source CT scanners allows for acquisition of a single postcontrast scan with reconstruction of virtual noncontrast images, which can preclude the need for a separate precontrast scan phase [31]. Similar to CT without IV contrast [21, 22], virtual noncontrast imaging allows distinction of ossification from calcification and identification of characteristic patterns of mineralization [29,30] and is particularly useful in assessment of mass mineralization in areas where the osseous anatomy is complex or obscured and radiographs would be less sensitive. CT Area of Interest Without and With IV Contrast The advent of virtual noncontrast reconstruction with modern dual-source CT scanners allows for acquisition of a single postcontrast scan with reconstruction of virtual noncontrast images, which can preclude the need for a separate precontrast scan phase [31]. However, a traditional CT without and with IV contrast may be appropriate for characterization of mineralization in an anatomically complex area. Although a multi-institutional study of 133 patients with primary soft tissue malignancies by Panicek et al [32] found no statistically significant difference between MRI and contrast-enhanced CT imaging in determining tumor involvement of muscle, bone, joint, or neurovascular structures, this study did not specifically endorse the usefulness of dual-phase CT without and with IV contrast.