Determining the Dynamic Contrast - Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE- MRI) in Diagnosis of Pulmonary Nodules

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the role of dynamic contrast _ enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in diagnosis of pulmonary nodules. Patients and methods: The study was a cross-sectional study that was conducted on 30 patients with lung nodules referred to Radio diagnosis and imaging department from chest and oncology departments. By performing repeated CT within 30 days, we identified malignant nodules. The CT was repeated at 3 and 6 months which showed that the malignant pulmonary nodules increased in size and number. Results: The maximum enhancement curve was a significant discriminator. At cut-off value of ≥ 375, the maximum enhancement curve yielded a sensitivity of 92.6% and specificity of 96% (figure 3). In contrary, the ADC value had poor diagnostic accuracy in differentiating between malignant and benign cases. Conclusion: Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI is valuable for diagnosis of pulmonary nodules and discrimination of benign from malignant ones.