Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Jun;91(1086):20170731.
doi: 10.1259/bjr.20170731. Epub 2018 Mar 20.

Perceived patient burden and acceptability of whole body MRI for staging lung and colorectal cancer; comparison with standard staging investigations

Ruth Ec Evans  1 , Stuart A Taylor  2 , Sandra Beare  3 , Steve Halligan  2 , Alison Morton  4 , Alf Oliver  4 , Andrea Rockall  5   6 , Anne Miles  1
Affiliations

Perceived patient burden and acceptability of whole body MRI for staging lung and colorectal cancer; comparison with standard staging investigations

Ruth Ec Evans et al. Br J Radiol. 2018 Jun.

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate perceived patient burden and acceptability of whole body MRI (WB-MRI) compared to standard staging investigations, and identify predictors of reduced tolerance.

Methods: Patients recruited to multicentre trials comparing WB-MRI with standard staging scans for lung and colorectal cancer were invited to complete two questionnaires: a baseline questionnaire at recruitment, measuring demographics, comorbidities, and distress; and a follow-up questionnaire after staging, measuring recovery time, comparative acceptability/satisfaction between WB-MRI and CT (colorectal cancer) and PET-CT (lung cancer), and perceived scan burden (scored 1, low; 7, high). Results: 115 patients (median age 66.3 years; 67 males) completed follow up and 103 baseline questionnaires. 69 (63.9%) reported "immediate" recovery from WB-MRI and 73 (65.2%) judged it "very acceptable". Perceived WB-MRI burden was greater than for CT (p < 0.001) and PET-CT (p < 0.001). High distress and comorbidities were associated with greater WB-MRI burden in adjusted analyses, with deprivation only approaching significance (adjusted regression β = 0.223, p = 0.025; β = 0.191, p = 0.048; β = -0.186, p = 0.059 respectively). Age (p = 0.535), gender (p = 0.389), ethnicity (p = 0.081) and cancer type (p = 0.201) were not predictive of WB-MRI burden.

Conclusion: WB-MRI is marginally less acceptable and more burdensome than standard scans, particularly for patients with pre-existing distress and comorbidities. Advances in knowledge: This research shows that WB-MRI scan burden, although low, is higher than for current staging modalities among patients with suspected colorectal or lung cancer. Psychological and physical comorbidities adversely impact on patient experience of WB-MRI. Patients with high distress or comorbid illness may need additional support to undergo a WB-MRI.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Flow diagram of participants through the study (March 2013–July 2015).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Brocken P, Prins JB, Dekhuijzen PN, van der Heijden HF. The faster the better?—A systematic review on distress in the diagnostic phase of suspected cancer, and the influence of rapid diagnostic pathways. Psychooncology 2012; 21: 1–10. doi: 10.1002/pon.1929 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ciliberto M, Maggi F, Treglia G, Padovano F, Calandriello L, Giordano A, et al. . Comparison between whole-body MRI and Fluorine-18-Fluorodeoxyglucose PET or PET/CT in oncology: a systematic review. Radiol Oncol 2013; 47: 206–18. doi: 10.2478/raon-2013-0007 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Usuda K, Sagawa M, Maeda S, Motono N, Tanaka M, Machida Y, et al. . Diagnostic performance of whole-body diffusion-weighted imaging compared to PET-CT plus brain MRI in staging clinically resectable lung cancer. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev 2016; 17: 2775–80. - PubMed
    1. Plumb AA, Ghanouni A, Rainbow S, Djedovic N, Marshall S, Stein J, et al. . Patient factors associated with non-attendance at colonoscopy after a positive screening faecal occult blood test. J Med Screen 2017; 24: 12–19. doi: 10.1177/0969141316645629 - DOI - PubMed
    1. van Minde D, Klaming L, Weda H. Pinpointing moments of high anxiety during an MRI examination. Int J Behav Med 2014; 21: 487–95. doi: 10.1007/s12529-013-9339-5 - DOI - PubMed