A study looking at a new type of MRI scan to help plan and see how well radiotherapy works for non small cell lung cancer

When planning radiotherapy for people with lung cancer, doctors try to avoid as much healthy lung tissue as possible. But this can be difficult because scans do not show healthy lung tissue very clearly. If a large dose of radiotherapy is given there is a risk of inflammation of the lungs which can lead to a dry cough or shortness of breath. This is called radiation pneumonitis

In this study researchers looked at a new type of scan called ‘Helium 3 MRI’ to show healthy lung tissue. This is similar to a regular MRI scan, but works in a slightly different way.

Helium 3 MRI involves breathing in a gas called Helium 3. The areas of lung that the helium can reach will then show up on the scan. From this doctors can see which parts of the lung are still working, so they know where to try and reduce radiation doses when they plan treatment.

Researchers also compared information from these scans with normal MRI scans, CT scans and breathing tests. The main aims of this study were to see if Helium 3 MRI scans could

• Help reduce radiation to healthy lung tissue, reducing radiation pneumonitis
• Show doctors how well lungs are working after treatment