An MRI is a good test to find cancer in much of the body. It’s particularly useful at making clear pictures of soft tissue, such as tumors. But there are certain cancers that it can’t diagnose.
Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, is a type of examination that creates pictures of the interior of the body. To create cross-sectional images of a patient’s body from many different angles, there is a large magnetic field and radio waves. The MRI helps doctors view soft tissues in detail, which cannot be done with some other imaging techniques.
MRIs are useful for diagnosing large quantities of cancers. MRIs will identify tumors in a very wide variety of places in the body and will help physicians locate the position and size of the tumor. There are limits to the types of cancer an MRI will identify.
Is An MRI Helpful In Detecting Cancer?
Out of the many possible ways to detect different types of cancers, MRIs can also be one of the more accurate measures. MRIs also tend to be more accurate to help find tumors than other images like X rays or CT scans. MRIs give very accurate images using radio waves and magnets.
Sometimes they put in a contrast dye (a liquid that is injected into a vein) to clarify some of the MRI images. This dye assists in enhancing the images and visibility of the tumors (remember tumors found on the spinal cord.).
An MRI can be used for cancer staging, indicating how severe or large the cancer is, to prescribe the most appropriate type and treatment to take for that person.
Once the treatment is initiated, you will have more MRIs done to see how the tumor is responding to chemotherapy, radiation etc.
What Kinds Of Cancers Can An MRI Detect?
MRIs are highly effective in detecting various cancers. MRIs usually are not used as a stand alone way to establish a diagnosis. MRIs may be used to identify and visualize tumors for these cancers:
- brain cancer
- spinal cancer
- breast cancer
- lung cancer
- bladder cancer
- pancreatic cancer
- liver cancer
- esophageal cancer
- multiple myeloma
- prostate cancer
- non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
Sometimes cancer is detected when an MRI is performed for some other reason. For instance, an MRI for a joint problem may detect cancer in a nearby organ. Sometimes this can lead to detecting cancer early when it is still symptom-free and being in a position to treat it.
Can Cancer Be Missed On An MRI?
MRIs sometimes cannot find cancer. For example, an MRI can miss small tumors, generate blurry images of tumors, or even produce a false negative image that does not show the tumor at all.
However, it is rare for an MRI to be the only test performed as part of diagnosis for any type of cancer. If the MRI results do not correlate in some way with other test results the physician may consider requesting a second MRI or some other type of imaging.
If your MRI does not lead to any conclusions, you may have another MRI but this time with dye to enhance the ability of the images to show any tumors. Also you may have a repeat test, such as an endoscopy where the team of physicians will physically bring the physician closer to any real or potential tumors.
What Can’t An MRI Detect?
MRIs are not always the best option. They are a good way to diagnose tumors and soft tissue injury. However, they do not have a good depiction of bones and bone structures, therefore they typically cannot be used for bone fractures or bone cancers.
And, usually, you won’t receive an MRI for blood cancers, such as leukemia, because blood cancers exist in the blood and bone marrow, and do not have tumor formation.
However, severe blood cancers can cause your organs, such as spleen and liver swelling. If your physician believes that your organs have swelling, you can have an MRI to document that symptom.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Is an MRI scan painful?
No, MRI is a safe and non-invasive procedure.
Q. Can MRI scan detect tumours?
Yes, MRI can detect cancer and tumours.
Q. What is the cost of a brain MRI scan in Delhi, NCR?
The cost of a brain MRI scan in Delhi ranges between 4000 INR and 6000 INR, and also this depends on center to center and other cost-affecting factors. For more details contact carebox.
Q. What are the types of brain MRI scans?
There are 2 types of brain MRI scans, such as structural and functional.
