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Open research questions in MRI in cancer diagnosis

55 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 221 MRI in cancer diagnosis papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • Procedural risks and sampling variability associated with renal biopsy. Limited understanding of the role of quantitative MRI biomarkers in pediatric CKD. Need for rigorous validation and longitudinal studies to enable clinical translation.

    Quantitative MRI of pediatric chronic kidney disease and renal fibrosis: potential non-invasive clinical biomarkers · 2026 · DOI

  • Differentiating benign and malignant lesions in patients with mammographic architectural distortion. Limited specificity of digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) in detecting architectural distortion.

    Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Problem-Solving Tool in Patients with Mammographic Architectural Distortion · 2026 · DOI

  • The study had a limited sample size of 62 patients. The study excluded patients with a history of prior breast biopsy, surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or neoadjuvant treatment in the same breast.

    Breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging as a Problem-Solving Tool in Patients with Mammographic Architectural Distortion · 2026 · DOI

  • Limited spatial resolution of PET-[¹⁵O]H₂O. Small sample size. Difficulty in translating exercise-oncology findings from animal models to the clinical setting.

    First-in-human quantitative [¹⁵O]H₂O PET imaging of tumour blood flow at rest and during exercise in lymphoma patients · 2026 · DOI

  • BACKGROUND: MR elastography (MRE) has applications in breast cancer, but its optimal frequency and value in discriminating molecular subtypes remain unclear.

    Magnetic Resonance Elastography in Breast Cancer: A Prospective Study on Optimal Imaging Frequency Selection and Differentiation of Molecular Subtypes · 2026 · DOI

  • Reliable noninvasive methods for early CKD detection and chronicity assessment are lacking.

    Multiparametric <scp>MR</scp> Imaging for Detecting Early Chronic Kidney Disease and Grading Chronic Pathological Changes · 2026 · DOI

  • This study has several limitations. Firstly, the study was conducted at a single center with a relatively small and heterogeneous cohort, which may limit its statistical power and restrict the robustness and generalizability of the findings. Importantly, the prevalence of malig- nant lesions was low in this study; therefore, although no missed cancers were observed, the results should be reviewed with caution. Lastly, the limited number of the screening subgroup prevented the generation of reliable diagnostic performance indices.

    Utility of abbreviated breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the detection and characterization of breast lesions: comparison with full-protocol dynamic breast Magnetic Resonance Imaging · 2026 · DOI

  • Further studies are needed to validate the study's findings and to explore the clinical applications of the results. Future research should investigate the use of MRI in predicting LVI and its correlations with various clinicopathological factors.

    Can MRI predict lymphovascular invasion in breast cancer? A radiological-pathological observational insights · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need for a comprehensive assessment of MRI features of invasive breast cancer in relation to LVI and its clinicopathological associations. Prior studies have found correlations between LVI and various clinicopathological factors, but more research is needed to fully understand these relationships.

    Can MRI predict lymphovascular invasion in breast cancer? A radiological-pathological observational insights · 2026 · DOI

  • Conventional BI-RADS assessments have limitations in distinguishing between HER2 expression subtypes. There is a need for improved diagnostic performance in differentiating HER2-zero, HER2-low, and HER2-positive breast cancer.

    Added value of intravoxel incoherent motion histogram analysis in differentiating HER2-zero, HER2-low, and HER2-positive breast cancer · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need for noninvasive biomarkers for predicting LVI in rectal cancer. Accurate preoperative detection of LVI can help clinicians stratify patients by risk and tailor treatments.

    Microstructural mapping of time-dependent diffusion MRI for predicting lymphovascular invasion in rectal cancer: a proof-of-concept investigation · 2026 · DOI

  • Conventional MRI has limitations due to overlapping imaging features. There is a need for a reliable, non-invasive imaging modality for differentiating benign and malignant brain tumors.

    Role Of Diffusion-Weighted Mri In Differentiating Benign And Malignant Brain Tumor · 2026 · DOI

  • Further studies are needed to compare the results with other imaging modalities. Studies are needed to evaluate the use of DCE-MRI in different breast cancer subtypes. Research is needed to develop new imaging modalities for breast cancer diagnosis and treatment.

    Comparison of Dynamic Contrast- Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Mammogram, and Ultrasound in The Estimation Of Tumor Size In Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Neoadjuvant · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need for accurate tumor size estimation in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. The current imaging modalities have limitations in estimating tumor size. There is a need for a comparative study of DCE-MRI, MG, and US in estimating tumor size.

    Comparison of Dynamic Contrast- Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Mammogram, and Ultrasound in The Estimation Of Tumor Size In Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Neoadjuvant · 2026 · DOI

  • Data from participants older than 90 years were excluded due to a lack of precise age. Data from participants showing suboptimal T1w, T2w or pCASL MRI quality, or inadequate image quality in regions corresponding to the DGMN were excluded.

    Quantitative MRI analysis of deep gray matter aging: Volumetric, T1/T2 ratio, and blood perfusion alterations · 2026 · DOI

  • Future studies can investigate the underlying mechanisms of age-related changes in the DGMN. Future studies can explore the relationship between age-related changes in the DGMN and cognitive decline. Future studies can develop novel biomarkers for neurobiological aging based on the study's findings.

    Quantitative MRI analysis of deep gray matter aging: Volumetric, T1/T2 ratio, and blood perfusion alterations · 2026 · DOI

  • The application of artificial intelligence and machine learning methods in pediatric CKD remains nascent. There is a paucity of studies applying these approaches to the assessment of histologic renal fibrosis, particularly in pediatric populations. Rigorous validation and longitudinal studies are needed to enable clinical translation.

    Quantitative MRI of pediatric chronic kidney disease and renal fibrosis: potential non-invasive clinical biomarkers · 2026 · DOI

  • To improve the consistency of the results by addressing the limitations of the current study. To apply the proposed pipeline to other medical imaging tasks. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed pipeline in a larger dataset.

    A Generative Pipeline for 3D Breast MRI: Diffusion Models Meet Super-Resolution GANs · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a gap in literature regarding prone-to-supine biomechanical modelling of breast deformation. The scarcity of 3D breast MRI data hinders the training of a prone-to-supine biomechanical model. The proposed pipeline aims to address this gap by generating realistic and diverse 3D breast MRI samples.

    A Generative Pipeline for 3D Breast MRI: Diffusion Models Meet Super-Resolution GANs · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a need for improved image fidelity and richer quantitative insight into tissue microstructure. There is a lack of consensus on a uniform data pipeline for data correction by pre-processing.

    Microstructure imaging of prostate cancer by diffusion MRI · 2026 · DOI

  • Approaches for microstructure MRI offer opportunities to enhance prostate cancer diagnostics, both by improv- ing image fidelity and by delivering richer quantitative insight into tissue microstructure and function. Thanks to their promise and active development, the methods con- tinue to mature, but in the current state, they are primarily research tools with limited support and testing in clinical environments. The translation of microstructure MRI of prostate cancer to clinical use must account for several practical consid- erations. Implementing biophysical models or signal rep- resentations requires optimized pulse sequences, carefully tailored diffusion encoding, and robust strategies for parame- ter estimation. Multicompartment or multi-tissue approaches depend critically on appropriate acquisition design—involv- ing a broad span of b-values, adequate angular/repeated sam- pling, and sensitivity to relevant diffusion times—to probe intracellular, stromal, and vascular contributions with suffi- cient specificity. Advances in MRI hardware and image read- out techniques have expanded the feasible encoding space, while improvements in model formulation, regularization, and machine-learning-based reconstruction allow rapid and stable parameter mapping. Together, these developments have substantially reduced acquisition and reconstruction times across a range of diffusion protocols, making several approaches clinically practical. Therefore, we expect that integration of hardware-enabled diffusion and relaxation encoding with refined microstructural models and signal representations is increasingly positioning dMRI as a real- istic, near-term addition to routine multiparametric prostate imaging. Finally, multicenter trials with large cohorts are needed to compare and validate the clinical value of micro- structure MRI techniques, and several clinical trials are dedicated to validate the microstructural MRI techniques described herein (e.g., NCT02689271, NCT07249281, NCT03585660). Through these trials and continued research, a consensus can be formed to standardize and determine what method is best for what context and pos- sibly incorporate them into clinical practice. In this regard, collaboration between MRI physicists, radiologists, patholo- gists, and urologists is necessary to realize this translation. Funding Open access funding provided by Lund University. FSz is funded by the Swedish Cancer Society (22 0592 JIA and 22 2011 Pj), the Swedish Research Council (2021-04844), and the Swedish Prostate Cancer Federation. MP is supported by the UKRI Future Leaders Fel- lowship (MR/T020296/2 and 1073). EP is supported by the Department of Health’s NIHR-funded Biomedical Research Center at University College London Hospitals. DW is funded by the National Natural Sci- ence Foundation of China (U24A20754).

    Microstructure imaging of prostate cancer by diffusion MRI · 2026 · DOI

  • Deep learning has significantly advanced this area, with the development of generative models and transformers leading to improvements in fidelity and accuracy, although the study of the influence of attention mechanisms on these models remains limited to a single type or a single architectural placement.

    Comparative Analysis of Attention Mechanisms in Pix2Pix for Multimodal MRI Fusion · 2026 · DOI

  • Further studies should investigate the effectiveness of systematic additional education on SAR management. Research should focus on developing national guidelines and protocols for SAR management.

    SAR in magnetic resonance imaging · 2026 · DOI

  • There is a gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application of SAR management among radiologic technologists. Current educational frameworks provide only a foundational understanding of SAR.

    SAR in magnetic resonance imaging · 2026 · DOI

  • The limited understanding of voxel-wise repeatability in [18F]FDG PET/MRI. The potential impacts of modality-specific variations in spatial resolution and image artifacts on repeatability results.

    Voxel-wise Repeatability of [18F]FDG PET/MRI Quantitative Metrics in Cervical Cancer · 2026 · DOI

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55 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 221 MRI in cancer diagnosis papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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