Vulvar cancer staging: guidelines of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR)

Olivera Nikolić; Filipa Alves E Sousa; Teresa Margarida Cunha; Marijana Basta Nikolić; M Milagros Otero-García; Benedetta Gui; Stephanie Nougaret; Henrik Leonhardt; ESUR Female Pelvic Imaging Working Group

doi:10.1186/s13244-021-01075-6

Vulvar cancer staging: guidelines of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR)

Insights Imaging. 2021 Sep 22;12(1):131. doi: 10.1186/s13244-021-01075-6.

Authors

Olivera Nikolić^#¹, Filipa Alves E Sousa^#², Teresa Margarida Cunha³, Marijana Basta Nikolić¹, M Milagros Otero-García⁴, Benedetta Gui⁵, Stephanie Nougaret⁶, Henrik Leonhardt⁷; ESUR Female Pelvic Imaging Working Group

Collaborators

ESUR Female Pelvic Imaging Working Group:
Stephanie Nougaret, Laure Fournier, Charis Bourgioti, Athina C Tsili, Milagros Otero-Garcia, Lucia Manganaro, Teresa Margarida Cunha, Aki Kido, Celine Alt, Rita Lucas, Henrik Leonhardt, Benedetta Gui, Rosemarie Forstner, Cristina Maciel, Evis Sala, Nishat Bharwani, Laura Buñesch, Yulia Lakhman, Carolina Lopez, Olivera Nikolic, Marijana Basta Nikolić

Affiliations

¹ Center of Radiology, Clinical Center of Vojvodina, Faculty of Medicine, University of Novi Sad, Hajduk Veljkova 1-9, 21000, Novi Sad, Serbia.
² Department of Radiology, Centro Hospitalar Universitário de Lisboa Central, Alameda Santo António Dos Capuchos, 1169-050, Lisboa, Portugal. filipasousa039@gmail.com.
³ Department of Radiology, Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil, R. Prof. Lima Basto, 1099-023, Lisbon, Portugal.
⁴ Hospital Universitario de Vigo (CHUVI), Estrada Clara Campoamor 341, 36312, Vigo, Spain.
⁵ Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, UOC Radiologia Generale Ed Interventistica Generale, Area Diagnostica Per Immagini, Dipartimento Diagnostica Per Immagini, Radioterapia Oncologica ed Ematologia, Rome, Italy.
⁶ Department of Radiology, Montpellier Cancer Institute, 15 INSERM, Montpellier Cancer Research Institute, U1194, University of Montpellier, 208 Avenue des Apothicaires, 34295, Montpellier, France.
⁷ Department of Radiology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Bruna straket 11B, 413 45, Gothenburg, Sweden.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the Female Pelvic Imaging Working Group of the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) was to develop imaging staging guidelines for vulvar cancer and to propose standardised MRI protocols and reporting.

Methods: The guidelines recommended from the ESUR in this article resulted from a questionnaire analysis regarding imaging staging of vulvar cancer that was answered by all members of the Female Pelvic Imaging Working Group. Only the answers with an agreement equal to or more than 80% were considered. Additionally, the literature was reviewed to complement and further support our conclusions.

Results: The critical review of the literature and consensus obtained among experts allows for recommendations regarding imaging staging guidelines, patient preparation, MRI protocol, and a structured MRI report.

Conclusions: Standardising image acquisition techniques and MRI interpretation reduces ambiguity and ultimately improves the contribution of radiology to the staging and management of patients with vulvar cancer. Moreover, structured reporting assists with the communication of clinically relevant information to the referring physician.

Keywords: Guidelines; Magnetic resonance imaging; Protocol; Staging; Vulvar cancer.