[Diagnosis of cancer with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)]

Following a brief review of the history of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), advantages and disadvantages of MRI are discussed in the diagnosis of malignant tumors of the various parts of the body. The advantages include high contrast resolution, no artifacts from the bones, and arbitrary imaging planes obtainable in multiple slices, whereas disadvantages include no signals from calcifications and prolonged imaging time. The roles of MRI were discussed in relation to detection of early cancers, extent of the lesions, histologic diagnosis and monitoring of treatments. Early diagnosis of tumors is successful in the central nervous system, whereas it is not accomplished in other parts of the body. Extent of the tumors or staging of the tumors can be accomplished to excellent advantage, but signal intensity is often not useful for differential diagnosis.