are T(1)-weighted sagittal images sufficient?
The objective of this study was to determine whether T(1)-weighted sagittal images alone are adequate in the diagnosis of vertebral metastasis, epidural metastasis, and malignant spinal cord compression. Ninety-four complete magnetic resonance (MR) studies of the spinal column (a complete study consisting of T(1)-weighted sagittal images, T(2)-weighted sagittal images, and T(1)- and/or T(2)-weighted axial images) and 94 T(1)-weighted sagittal images alone (a subset of the complete studies) from 57 consecutive cancer patients over the last 2 years with clinically suspected cord compression were blindly and independently evaluated by four radiologists. The complete MR studies were used as the standard. Overall, the sensitivity of T(1)-weighted sagittal images alone to vertebral metastasis (87%) was statistically greater than cord compression (70%) (p = 0.05), and statistically greater than epidural metastasis (46%) (p = 0.02). The specificity for cord compression (97%) was greater than