I read that lipomas are benign and are not cancerous. I also read that lipomas don't become cancerous. Another website said that in rare cases a lipoma can become cancerous. I have a lipoma on my brain on or beside my pituitary gland. The doctor said it was a benign tumor. Here's the main question I want answered. WOULD THE MRI SHOW IF THERE WAS ANY CANCER IN THE LIPOMA?
2007-11-03 13:50:04 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Other - Diseases
MRI in different T1-T2 weighted iamges can differentiate clearly lipomas from other tumors. But we cannot be 100% sure unless we take some tissue for analysis. Bur for lipoma, to do a stereotaxic suregry to take a biopsy is worthless...
2007-11-03 14:06:31 · answer #1 · answered by vratch25 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lipoma is a benign tumor just below the skin. They are usualy harmless because they grow very slowly. In rare cases, yes, they can become cancer but again this is rare.
The MRI would not definitively show whether the lipoma was benign, only a biopsy could do that, however MRI imaging of the tumor can give your doctor a pretty good idea based on the appearance of the tumor whether it is malignant (cancerous).
2007-11-03 14:19:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The MRI just shows the image of something being there, not whether it is cancerous or not. Takes a tissue sample diagnosis for that. I had a lipoma removed a number of years ago. All went well and it was benign.
2007-11-03 13:59:45 · answer #3 · answered by Darke Angel 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Even if it's not cancerous, a tumor in that location could put pressure on your pituitary gland, which could cause other health problems. Try googling pituitary, benign, symptoms and tumor (together, not individually) to see what symptoms this can cause. If you have any of those symptoms, please tell your doctor. If you are not satisfied with your doctor's care, find another one, preferably a good neurologist. Good luck.
2007-11-03 14:29:27 · answer #4 · answered by texasbratsilver 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋