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- Original Article -

Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Peripheral Lung Cancer

Ryota Tanaka¹, Hiroyuki Horikoshi², Yoshimasa Nakazato¹, Reiko Yoshino³, Misa Iijima⁴, Tomoyuki Goya⁵, Koichi Minato^3
1Department of Thoracic Surgery, ²Department of Diagnostic Radiology, ³Department of Chemotherapy, ⁴Department of Pathology, Gunma Prefectural Cancer Center, Japan, ⁵Department of Surgery, Kyorin University School of Medicine, Japan

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Objectives. We evaluated the usefulness of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) by comparison of MRI studies and pathological findings in lung cancer patients. Materials and Methods. From May 2005 to May 2006, 52 lung cancer patients underwent surgical operation in our division. Forty-five patients, each with a preoperatively recognized peripheral lung lesion underwent the MRI study. Short TI inversion recovery (STIR), high b-value diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with free breathing scanning and dynamic MRI studies were performed. Results. There was no statistically significant difference between adenocarcinoma (n=35) and other carcinomas (n=10) on MRI findings. Twenty-seven adenocarcinomas (less than 30 mm in diameter) were histologically diagnosed as follows: 9 patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma (BAC), 12 patients with advanced BAC, and 6 non-BAC cases (adenocarcinoma without a BAC component) group. When the lesions demonstrated a strong enhancement (steep type) on dynamic studies or showed a strong signal (score 4) intensity on DWI, we judged them to be positive (indicating invasion). Sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 94.4%, 66.6%, and 85.2%, respectively. Conclusion. The MRI studies permitted the acquisition of more detailed information on peripheral lung adenocarcinomas, and high b-value DWI is valuable as a supporting tool in evaluating the grade of malignancy.
key words: STIR, DWI, MRI, Lung cancer, Dynamic study

Received: October 11, 2006
Accepted: November 22, 2006

JJLC 47 (1): 13-20, 2007