Updated ESUR guideline on MRI staging of endometrial cancer 

The European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) has released an updated version of the 2009 ESUR endometrial cancer guidelines.

The guideline is published in the journal European Radiology.

Stephanie Nougaret, IRCM, Montpellier Cancer Research Institute, Montpellier, France, and colleagues developed the guidelines with an aim to update the 2009 EUSR endometrial cancer guidelines and propose strategies to standardize image acquisition, interpretation and reporting for endometrial cancer staging with MRI. Medline (Ovid), EMBRASE (embrace.com), and Cochrane Library were searched for the original manuscripts published between 2007 and 2017 that pertained to MR imaging and staging of endometrial cancer.

The published evidence-based data and the opinion of experts were combined using the RAND-UCLA Appropriateness Method and formed the basis for these consensus guidelines. The responses of the experts to 81 questions regarding the details of patient preparation, MR imaging protocol, image interpretation and reporting were collected, analysed and classified as "RECOMMENDED" versus "NOT RECOMMENDED" (if at least 80% consensus among experts) or uncertain (if less than 80% consensus among experts).

Key Recommendations:

• MRI is recommended for initial staging of endometrial cancer.


• MR imaging protocol should be tailored based on the risk of lymph node metastases.


• Myometrial invasion is best assessed using combined axial-oblique T2WI, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and contrast-enhanced imaging.


• The mnemonic "Clinical and MRI Critical TEAM" summarizes key elements of the standardized report.

Read Also: American Cancer Society Guidelines for the Early Detection of Cancer

Consensus regarding patient preparation, MR image acquisition, interpretation, and reporting was determined using the RAND-UCLA Appropriateness Method. A tailored MR imaging protocol and a standardized report were recommended.

These consensus recommendations should be used as a guide for endometrial cancer staging with MRI.

For more information log on to 10.1007/s00330-018-5515-y