Comparison of MRI and endoscope ultrasound detection in preoperative T/N staging of gastric cancer

Gastric cancer is a common malignancy and cause of mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) detection in preoperative clinical T/N staging in gastric cancer. Thirty-eight patients diagnosed with gastric cancer by gastroscopy and pathological examination were included in the study. All 38 patients underwent MRI and EUS detection prior to surgery. The accuracy of MRI, EUS and MRI+EUS was evaluated according to postoperative pathological staging. Results identified the accuracy of EUS, MRI and EUS+MRI in T clinical staging to be 86.64, 73.68 and 89.47%, respectively (MRI vs. EUS+MRI, P=0.035), while the accuracy for N clinical staging was 65.78, 68.42 and 71.05%, respectively (P>0.05). The accuracy rate in EUS and EUS+MRI detection in N0 stage was markedly higher compared with that in MRI (100 vs. 86.67%, P=0.032), whereas the rate in EUS detection in N2 stage was lower compared with that in MRI and EUS+MRI (45.45 vs. 54.54%, P=0.021). Thus, both MRI and EUS had a higher accuracy in preoperative T/N staging. Additionally, the accuracy rate was improved significantly when the two procedures were combined.