Standard and high resolution magnetic resonance imaging of glomus tumors of toes and fingertips.

BACKGROUND: High-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of subungual glomus tumors has been recently reported.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to compare high-resolution MRI and standard MRI for the diagnosis of 44 glomus tumors of the toes and fingertips.

METHODS: Glomus tumors (11 cases) were first examined by MRI with a commercial surface coil (set 1). Thirty-three other glomus tumors and one tumor from set 1 were then examined with a high-resolution module designed for skin imaging (set 2).

RESULTS: All 44 glomus tumors were identified with MRI. The limits of the tumors were detected in 54% of set 1 and 100% of set 2. A capsule was present in most cases, but was incomplete or absent in eight cases. Subtypes of glomus tumors were more easily differentiated in set 2.

CONCLUSION: Standard MRI was adequate to detect glomus tumors, but high-resolution MRI assessed tumor characteristics more accurately.