The value of whole-body MRI instead of only brain MRI in addition to 18 F-FDG PET/CT in the staging of advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Background: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a common neoplasm with poor prognosis in advanced stages. The clinical work-up in patients with locally advanced NSCLC mostly includes F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography computed tomography (F-FDG PET/CT) because of its high sensitivity for malignant lesion detection; however, specificity is lower. Diverging results exist whether whole-body MRI (WB-MRI) improves the staging accuracy in advanced lung cancer.