Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Lung: Oncological Applications

Lung neoplasms are characterized by a complex interaction between tumor cells and a variety of resident and infiltrating host elements, secreted factors, and extracellular matrix proteins, collectively referred to as the microenvironment. Nowadays, in the setting of lung cancer, and in particular non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the evaluation of microenvironment characteristics can only be performed by a pathologist and only on histological material. By combining different MRI parameters, it may be possible to create a specific imaging "signature" for the three different immune phenotypes and thus be able to make a distinction based on MRI examination.