Russo A, Marinelli L, Patanè V, Alessandrella M, Pezzella MC, Troiani T, Brancaccio G, Scharf C, Argenziano G, Cappabianca S, Reginelli A. Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging for cutaneous melanoma staging: A scientific review. World J Clin Oncol 2025; 16(8): 109206 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i8.109206]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Vittorio Patanè, MD, Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Piazza Luigi Miraglia 2, Naples 80138, Campania, Italy. vittorio.patane@unicampania.it
Research Domain of This Article
Oncology
Article-Type of This Article
Systematic Reviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Oncol. Aug 24, 2025; 16(8): 109206 Published online Aug 24, 2025. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i8.109206
Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging for cutaneous melanoma staging: A scientific review
Anna Russo, Luca Marinelli, Vittorio Patanè, Marina Alessandrella, Maria Cristina Pezzella, Teresa Troiani, Gabriella Brancaccio, Camila Scharf, Giuseppe Argenziano, Salvatore Cappabianca, Alfonso Reginelli
Anna Russo, Luca Marinelli, Vittorio Patanè, Marina Alessandrella, Maria Cristina Pezzella, Teresa Troiani, Salvatore Cappabianca, Alfonso Reginelli, Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Naples 80138, Campania, Italy
Gabriella Brancaccio, Camila Scharf, Giuseppe Argenziano, Dermatology Unit, Department of Mental and Physical Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples 80138, Campania, Italy
Author contributions: Reginelli A and Patanè V conceptualized the study; Marinelli L and Patanè V developed the methodology; Russo A and Alessandrella M performed the formal analysis; Patanè V and Marinelli L curated the data; Patanè V and Russo A prepared the original draft; Pezzella MC, Troiani T, Brancaccio G, and Scharf C reviewed and edited the manuscript; Argenziano G, Cappabianca S, and Reginelli A supervised the project. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Authors have no conflict of interest to disclose.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Vittorio Patanè, MD, Department of Precision Medicine, University of Campania "L. Vanvitelli", Piazza Luigi Miraglia 2, Naples 80138, Campania, Italy. vittorio.patane@unicampania.it
Received: May 7, 2025 Revised: May 19, 2025 Accepted: July 2, 2025 Published online: August 24, 2025 Processing time: 109 Days and 22.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Cutaneous melanoma is an aggressive skin cancer with high metastatic potential. Accurate staging is critical to guide therapeutic strategies and improve prognosis. Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI), particularly when combined with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), has emerged as promising tool for comprehensive, radiation-free assessment of metastatic spread.
AIM
To systematically review the diagnostic performance and clinical utility of WB-MRI in the staging and restaging of cutaneous melanoma, with comparison to conventional imaging modalities such as computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography/CT (PET/CT).
METHODS
A systematic literature review was conducted using PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science databases for studies published in the last 10 years. Inclusion criteria focused on comparative diagnostic accuracy studies of WB-MRI vs CT and PET/CT for melanoma staging. The methodological quality of the studies was appraised using the QUADAS-2 tool.
RESULTS
Sixteen studies involving over 700 patients met the inclusion criteria. WB-MRI showed high sensitivity (73%-90%) and specificity (up to 98%) in detecting metastases, particularly in bone, liver and soft tissue. DWI enhanced lesion detection, and WB-MRI often influenced clinical management decisions. However, CT outperformed WB-MRI in identifying small pulmonary nodules. AI-assisted analysis and contrast-enhanced sequences further improved diagnostic confidence.
CONCLUSION
WB-MRI represents a robust imaging modality for staging cutaneous melanoma, offering superior soft-tissue contrast and functional imaging without ionizing radiation. Its strengths lie in detecting bone, liver and brain metastases. Challenges include limited lung lesion detection, cost, and availability. Advances in artificial intelligence, Hybrid PET/MRY systems, and radiomics are poised to expand WB-MRI’s role in personalized melanoma management.
Core Tip: Whole body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is reshaping melanoma staging by providing high diagnostic accuracy without ionizing radiation. This review outlines how recent advances in diffusion imaging have enhanced lesion detection, particularly in bone, liver and brain while highlighting current limitations in pulmonary assessment and future directions such as hybrid positron emission tomography/MRI and molecular imaging for personalized oncology.
