Objective: A retrospective study was undertaken to compare the diagnostic accuracy of plain radiography and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in the diagnosis of cartilaginous tumors.
Patients: The study population consisted of 68 patients with a histologically proven cartilaginous tumor.
Design: For each lesion, a comparative analysis of "plain radiography" versus "plain radiography together with MR study" was performed by two radiologists together. Recently reported literature data were used as criteria by which to define accuracy rating.
Results and conclusions: MR imaging improves accuracy in diagnosing low-grade chondrosarcomas. Since osteochondromas have a characteristic appearance on plain films, MR imaging contributes only in the diagnostic workup of cases in which malignant transformation is suspected.