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View Full Version : Can MRI show malignancy?



Ellecee
02-07-19, 21:41
Tldr: Can an mri be used to rule out malignancy in bone tumors?

6 weeks ago, I woke up in the middle of the night with my knee locked in a 90 degree. I had a panic attack (nice) and the adrenaline helped me get it unlocked. It was quite sore the next day, and eventually, at one point, popped loudly when I bent it. I kept it straight for several days and was in quite a lot of pain. I went to the orthopedist. They said it was likely a meniscus tear. They gave me a cortisone shot and a prescription for physical therapy. I have connective tissue issues from autoimmune, and basically all of my joints got very angry. It took me several weeks to just be able to walk to go to physical therapy. I made great strides at physical therapy, but noticed a bump had formed on the inside of my knee (where the pain originated). I had the mri (6 weeks after the original issue). During the follow up, I was told the ligaments and meniscus were all in good condition. The only things they saw were a loose kneecap, fluid and a bone tumor “likely” to be an enchondroma. Well, to any normal person, they consider this to be good news. Someone with HA... that “likely” isn’t concrete enough for me. My health care provider has no idea why it locked up or why I had intense pain. I’m concerned, obviously, about that “likely” turning out to be malignant. Can an mri show benign vs malignancy? Should I get a second opinion?

Fishmanpa
03-07-19, 14:07
Unless its widespread and/or very obvious, an MRI, CT or x-ray cannot in itself show actual malignancy. That's done by biopsy. That said, they can show something of concern and worthy of further investigation. In my case, physical exams indicated issues, the scans affirmed them and the biopsy confirmed it. That's apparently not the case with you. What was shown is very common and very, very, very rarely turns into anything sinister.

A second opinion is up to you and your anxiety :shrug:

Positive thoughts

Ellecee
07-07-19, 03:42
Thanks for taking the time to reply. I ended up being able to rationalize it and calm down. Anxiety doesn’t win. ��