title: Central scars in primary liver tumors: MR features, specificity, and pathologic correlation.
abstract: Tumor scars were identified at pathologic study and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in ten of 17 (59%) primary liver tumors (nine hepatocellular carcinomas, four giant hemangiomas, two hepatic adenomas, and two cases of focal nodular hyperplasia). Histopathologic examination revealed three types of scar tissue. Inflammatory scars (n = 4), with edema, necrosis, hypercellularity, and loose fibrous tissue, appeared hypointense relative to liver on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images. Vascular scars (n = 3), predominantly composed of vascular channels traversing collagenous tissue, showed MR features similar to those of inflammatory scars. Collagenous scars (n = 3) appeared hypointense relative to liver on both T1-weighted and T2-weighted images. Central tumor scars are a frequent but nonspecific feature of both benign and malignant primary liver tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston 02114.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rummeny
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weissleder
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sironi
authors.forename: D D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Stark
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Comptom
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Saini
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wittenberg
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Ferrucci
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006391:Hemangioma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies