Magnetic resonance imaging and positron-emission tomography imaging in the 21st century as tools for the evaluation and management of patients with invasive cervical carcinoma.

For over 4 decades, the delivery of definitive radiotherapy to patients with carcinoma of the cervix has involved both external beam and brachytherapy. Both of these therapeutic modalities have been traditionally linked to 2-dimensional radiographic guidance. Currently, the staging of these tumors still resides in clinical examinations and 2-dimensional diagnostic x-rays. Recently, there have been significant technological developments in imaging, namely magnetic resonance imaging and positron-emission tomography. These novel radiologic advances have subsequently led to a number of investigational studies, which in turn have shown a "paradigm shift" not only in the diagnosis but also in the radiation delivery used for patients with invasive carcinoma of the cervix.