Primary lung cancer staging: prospective comparative study of MR imaging with CT

Forty-four patients with bronchogenic carcinoma were studied prospectively by both computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the thorax during the week preceding thoracotomy. Transaxial MR imaging sequences included T1- and T2-weighted sequences. Coronal and sagittal T1-weighted sequences were added according to tumor location. CT and MR studies were reviewed separately, and the results were compared with surgical and pathologic findings on the basis of TNM classification. No statistically significant differences were found between the two imaging methods for the evaluation of tumor extent or node involvement. T2-weighted sequences did not yield further information on tumor extent or node involvement. Additional imaging planes (coronal or sagittal) appeared useful to study chest wall invasion. Analysis of concordances and discordances did not indicate whether one modality could be substituted for the other, or which diagnostic strategy might be more useful.