I have been a thoracic surgery specialist for over 40 years. During that time, I have been utilizing MRI examinations and reporting on their effectiveness due to their low cost and no radiation.
I have published a book of MRI for thoracic diseases “The Superiority of MRI in Lung Cancer, Pulmonary Nodule and Thoracic Neoplasm Evaluation” in order to widely enlighten the general public and at the same time make experts fully aware of my research into MRI examinations that I have recorded over the years.
Compared to conventional CT, MRI allows for qualitative analysis of benign or malignant disease, not just morphology. Compared to PET-CT, MRI enables early assessment of therapeutic effects, is inexpensive, and does not require radioactive isotopes.
MRI is useful for differentiating between benign and malignant pulmonary masses, diagnosing the N factor, M factor, and stage of lung cancer, evaluating vascular, and mediastinal invasion, and determining the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for lung cancer. MRI is also useful for evaluating whether mediastinal lesions or pleural lesions are malignant or benign.
We hope MRI examinations, which do not cause any radiation exposure, will be included in clinical practice guidelines for lung cancer worldwide. We propose that this method will be used to determine the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation therapy for lung cancer.
This book and our blog will benefit readers who are interested in lung cancer and other tumors, and that the results will be useful for the advancement of MRI research.
January 2024
Thoracic surgeon, Oncologist Katsuo Usuda. MD. PhD
