Role of MRI in Assessing the Feasibility of Fertility-Sparing Treatments for Early-Stage Endometrial and Cervical Cancers

Abstract

Fertility-sparing treatment (FST) has become a key aspect of managing gynecologic cancers in reproductive-age patients who wish to preserve fertility. Several leading clinical societies, including the European Society of Gynecological Oncology, the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology, the European Society of Pathology, and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, have published evidence-based guidelines on fertility-sparing strategies and post-treatment surveillance of patients with early-stage gynecologic cancers, in particular endometrial and cervical cancers. These guidelines highlight MRI as essential to initial patient selection and follow-up. Properly tailored pelvic MRI protocols and clear MRI reports are key to performing accurate staging, assessing eligibility, and confirming the initial and ongoing feasibility of FST. Accordingly, radiologists, particularly those specializing in gynecologic imaging, play a critical role in the multidisciplinary approach to FST. They should be well-versed in FST eligibility criteria and key MRI findings before and after FST, ensuring these details are comprehensively communicated in structured MRI reports.

Keywords: MRI; cervical cancer; endometrial cancer; fertility preservation.