Bronchogenic carcinoma: staging with MR compared with staging with CT and surgery.

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Abstract
Patients (33) suspected of having bronchogenic carcinoma were studied prospectively using magnetic resonance (MR). In this group, 30 underwent examination with computed tomography (CT), 15 underwent thoracotomy, 6 had mediastinal biopsy procedures performed, and 8 underwent bronchoscopy. MR studies, which included transaxial spin-echo imaging (TR, 0.5 and 2.0 s; TE, 28 and 56 msec) of all patients and sagittal or coronal imaging of 18, were performed without knowledge of CT findings, using only plain radiographs as a guide. CT and MR studies were interpreted separately. CT and MR provided comparable information regarding the presence and size of mediastinal lymph nodes. MR better discriminated mediastinal nodes from vascular structures. In 2 of 11 patients who had multiple mediastinal lymph nodes that were normal in size at CT examination and surgery, MR suggested a confluent abnormal mass, probably because of its poorer spatial resolution. MR was superior to CT in showing enlarged hilar lymph nodes, but CT was better for demonstrating bronchial abnormalities. In 3 of 4 patients who had a proved hilar mass with distal obstructive pneumonia, MR (TR, 2.0 s) helped distinguish between the mass and collapsed lung.