However, it has significant limitations, particularly with respect to clinical staging and to the categories for lymph node staging.
The standard imaging modalities for staging (computed tomography [CT] or magnetic resonance imaging [MRI]) have an accuracy range of 70 90% for lymph node staging.
These new insights have created a window of opportunity for many other non-invasive (imaging) modalities to be used in axillary lymph node staging.
Therefore, accurate lymph node staging in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is crucial for planning the optimal treatment.
However, until now PET/CT remains the most accurate modality in lymph node staging[ 3, 18 ].
MRI enhanced with USPIO appears to be a good predictor of oesophageal lymph node staging.
WB-MRI is highly sensitive in detecting distant metastases, PET/CT is superior in lymph node staging.
Sentinel lymph node (SLN) mapping is the standard method for axillary lymph node staging in patients with breast cancer.
Many investigators have tried to improve upon lymph node staging in patients with colon cancer [ 31- 34].
However, the accuracy of MRI and CT for lymph node staging ranges from 70%to98%8%, with a false-negative rate of 20 40%[ 114, 116, 117 ].
