Magnetic resonance imaging-histologic correlation of small hepatocellular carcinomas adenomatous hyperplasias.
OBJECTIVE
Hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) usually consist of components of different histologic grade. Using surgically resected specimens, the authors obtained high-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) images and studied the relationship between histologic grade of HCCs and MR signal intensity.


METHODS
In vitro MRI was performed on 15 small (less than 20-mm diameter) HCCs and 2 patients with adenomatous hyperplasia (AH) within 1 hour of surgical resection. In these 17 lesions, 24 macroscopic nodular components corresponding to MR images were recognized pathologically. The difference in MR signal intensity was examined by using tumor/phantom (T/P) signal-intensity ratio. In addition, the correlations between signal intensity on MRI and histologic criteria for grading HCC were studied.


RESULTS
On T2-weighted images, grade II HCCs had significantly greater T/P values than grade I HCCs (P < .01). There is the correlation (r = .88, P < .001) between nucleocytoplasmic (N/C) ratio and signal intensity of small HCCs and AHs on T2-weighted images.


CONCLUSIONS
The N/C ratio is an important factor relating the signal intensity to the histologic grade of these lesions on T2-weighted images.
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Center for Adult Diseases, Osaka, Japan.
E
E
Inoue
C
C
Kuroda
Y
Y
Narumi
M
M
Fujita
T
T
Kadota
K
K
Kuriyama
H
H
Yoshioka
S
S
Ishiguro
Y
Y
Sasaki
S
S
Imaoka
D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged