Added Value of Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Evaluation of Mediastinal Lesions

Abstract

The high soft tissue contrast and tissue characterization properties of magnetic resonance imaging allow further characterization of indeterminate mediastinal lesions on chest radiography and computed tomography, increasing diagnostic specificity, preventing unnecessary intervention, and guiding intervention or surgery when needed. The combination of its higher soft tissue contrast and ability to image dynamically during free breathing, without ionizing radiation exposure, allows more thorough and readily appreciable assessment of a lesion's invasiveness and assessment of phrenic nerve involvement, with significant implications for prognostic clinical staging and surgical management.

Keywords: MR imaging; Mediastinal MR imaging; Mediastinal mass; Mediastinum; Thymic cyst; Thymic hyperplasia; Thymoma.