Benign Soft Tissue Masses
Chapter 65 discusses benign soft tissue masses, which are much more common than malignant lesions; however, there can be overlap between these categories, and some lesions have features that are indeterminate. In many cases, the clinical presentation is not clearly diagnostic, and patients with soft tissue lesions require additional evaluation with imaging and biopsy. Radiography, MRI, and US serve complementary roles in the workup of soft tissue masses, with MRI providing the most comprehensive evaluation in most cases. Although imaging sometimes cannot confirm a definitive diagnosis, the imaging appearance plays an important role in the workup of soft tissue masses and tumorlike conditions. The most important features to evaluate are the internal architecture of the lesion, defining the anatomic location of the lesion, and assessing the relationship of the soft tissue lesion to surrounding vital structures.