Histological evaluation of lung cancer with T2-weighted magnetic resonance images

Abstract

We investigated the differences in signal intensity of lung cancer tissue and non-cancerous lung tissues on T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images. MR images were obtained from patients with squamous cell carcinoma (n = 6), adenocarcinoma (n = 5), small cell carcinoma (n = 5), and large cell carcinoma (n = 1). To compare the MR signal intensity between tissues, we calculated the signal intensity ratios for tumor/skeletal muscle and lung/skeletal muscle. The MR signal intensity for each tissue was measured with a densitometer and T2-weighted MR images with a similar window and a center. The value of the signal intensity ratio for squamous cell carcinoma (3.26 +/- 0.76) was greater than those for adenocarcinoma (1.99 +/- 0.50, p < 0.05), small cell carcinoma (2.35 +/- 0.60), large cell carcinoma (2.46), and non-cancerous lung tissues (1.70 +/- 0.68, p < 0.02). The values of the MR signal intensity ratio for non-cancerous lung tissues were 2.00 for a collapsed lung, 0.93 for a firotic lung, and 2.18 for a fibrotic lung with obstructive pneumonia. The results suggest that the MR signal intensity ratio for pathologic tissues/normal skeletal muscle can be a useful indicator for qualitative and quantitative MR imaging diagnosis.