Longitudinal MRI in comparison to low-dose CT for follow-up of incidental pulmonary nodules in patients with COPD—a nationwide multicenter trial
Question Can MRI serve as an alternative to low-dose CT (LDCT) for the longitudinal management of pulmonary nodules in heavy smokers, addressing concerns over radiation exposure? Findings MRI demonstrated substantial agreement with LDCT in detecting nodule growth, accurately categorizing Lung-RADS, and comparable accuracy in identifying malignancy over a three-year follow-up. Clinical relevance Longitudinal MRI demonstrates high consistency with LDCT in assessing the growth of incidental pulmonary nodules and categorizing per-patient Lung-RADS, offering a reliable, radiation-free alternative for monitoring and early malignancy detection in high-risk populations.
Authors
- Mark Oliver Wielpütz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6962-037X)
- Simon M. F. Triphan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2068-1184)
- Oliver Weinheimer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9507-076X)
- Hans‐Ulrich Kauczor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6730-9462)
- Rudolf A. Jörres (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9782-1117)
- Bertram J. Jobst (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3343-2526)
- Claus Franz Vogelmeier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9798-2527)
- Claus Peter Heußel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5809-5733)
- Qian Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9048-762X)
- Monika Eichinger
- Lin Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0322-9321)
- Hong Yu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7242-908X)
- Jürgen Biederer
- Oyunbileg von Stackelberg
Institutions
- Union Hospital (HK)
- Philipps University of Marburg (DE)
- Shanghai Jiao Tong University (CN)
- Heidelberg University (DE)
- Universitätsmedizin Greifswald (DE)
- University Hospital Heidelberg (DE)
- Shanghai Chest Hospital (CN)
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (DE)
- German Center for Lung Research (DE)
- Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE)
- University of Latvia (LV)
Publication Details
- Journal
- European Radiology
- Published
- 2025-04-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-025-11567-4
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 3.04
Funders
- Justus Liebig Universität Gießen
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung
- Aeronautical Science Foundation of China
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
- Deutsches Zentrum für Lungenforschung
- Paracelsus Medizinische Privatuniversität
- Bayer Vital