Recent advance of pulmonary MR imaging

Since publication of the Radiologic Diagnostic Oncology Group Report (RDOG) in 1991, the clinical application of pulmonary magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has been limited. CT has been much more widely available in clinical situations. Currently, ventilation and perfusion scintigraphy is the only modality that demonstrates pulmonary function while FDG-PET is the only modality that reveals biological glucose metabolism of lung cancer. However, recent advancements in MR imaging have made it possible to evaluate morphological and functional information in pulmonary diseases more accurately and quantitatively. Pulmonary MR imaging may hold significant potential to substitute for nuclear medicine examinations. In this review, we describe recent advances in pulmonary magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, focusing on (1) characterization of solitary pulmonary nodules; (2) mediastinal invasion, (3) lymph node metastasis, (4) assessment of pulmonary vascular diseases; and (5) pulmonary functional imaging. We believe that further basic studies, as well as clinical applications of newer MR techniques, will play an important role in the management of patients with pulmonary diseases.