Comparison of B-mode ultrasonography and computed tomography in gynecologic cancer

Fifteen patients with gynecologic malignancies were studied prospectively to determine the relative effectiveness of B-mode ultrasonography and abdominal computed tomography (CAT) scans in detecting and measuring the extent of tumor. All patients underwent surgical procedures to evaluate tumor size. In 8 of 12 patients with tumor present at surgery there was complete agreement between the scans and surgical findings. There were two false negative sonograms and two false negative CAT scans, but in no patient were both scans falsely negative. Three other patients had negative scans; at laparotomy no residual disease was detected. Considering the greater cost and time requirement of CAT scans, our results suggest that ultrasonography is a more efficacious method of following abdominal and pelvic tumor size in patients on therapy. The CAT scan can be used to increase diagnostic confidence and may be the noninvasive procedure of choice for the diagnosis of intrauterine tumor masses.