Hacker News Reader

“MRIs…suck at cancer”

Wrong? I understand MRIs are the standard for certain types of cancer like brain and spinal tumors.

With respect to whole body MRI they can be less effective because it’s not optimized, accuracy can be traded for area.

But as a general statement MRIs do not suck at cancer.

MRIs are good if you know what you’re looking for, and usually with contrast, which in a situation like cancer where you need to do them often can result in allergic reactions.

In a full body situation, they are looking for mets, and the uptake of radioactive sugar by the tumors will let a PET scan find them.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com