OBJECTIVETo compare the diagnostic efficacies of 64-MDCT and 3.0-T MRI in determining the T stage of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODSApproval from the institutional ethics committee and informed consent from patients were obtained before the study started. 40 patients with NSCLC proved by pathology were enrolled in the study. All the 40 patients underwent non-enhanced MRI, enhanced MRI, and enhanced MDCT. Their T stages were preliminarily evaluated according to these imaging manifestations by 3 groups of experienced chest radiologists respectively, and correlated with that of postoperative pathology using the Kappa test. The diagnostic efficacies of these three imaging modalities for determining the T stage of NSCLC were compared using the McNemar test.

RESULTSThe preoperative diagnostic accuracy rate for the T stage of NSCLC was 85.0% (34 of 40) by non-enhanced MRI, 87.5% (35 of 40) by enhanced MRI, and 80.0% (32 of 40) by enhanced CT, showing no significant differences between the non-enhanced MRI and enhanced CT, enhanced MRI and enhanced CT, and non-enhanced MRI and enhanced MRI for determining the T stage of NSCLC (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONSCompared with the enhanced MDCT, non-enhanced MRI and enhanced MRI provide slightly superior diagnostic efficacy for the preoperative T staging of NSCLC. For the patients with intolerance to contrast medium on MDCT scan, 3.0T MRI may be an alternative for determining the preoperative T stage of NSCLC.

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Contrast Media ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; pathology ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Neoplasm Staging ; Preoperative Period