Detection of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma by dynamic MRI and dynamic spiral CT.
OBJECTIVE
Our goal was to evaluate the detectability of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) by multislice dynamic MRI and dynamic spiral CT.


METHODS
Prior to transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) with iodized oil, the liver was subjected to T1- and T2-weighted SE-MRI, multislice dynamic MRI after intravenous bolus injection of Gd-DTPA, early phase imaging with spiral CT (dynamic spiral CT) after intravenous bolus injection of contrast medium (at a rate of 2 or 3 ml/s), and delayed phase CT in 64 patients with 208 HCC nodules. The detectability of HCCs by MRI and CT was evaluated retrospectively compared with CT after TACE as a gold standard.


RESULTS
The detectability of nodules < 1 cm in diameter was superior with dynamic MRI (67%) and dynamic spiral CT (50%) in comparison with SE-MRI (26%) and delayed phase CT (11%) (p < 0.01). The detectability of these tumors with dynamic MRI was significantly superior to that with dynamic spiral CT using an injection rate of 2 ml/s (p < 0.01), but not significantly different from that of dynamic spiral CT using a rate of 3 ml/s.


CONCLUSIONS
Dynamic MRI and dynamic spiral CT are comparable for detecting hypervascular intrahepatic metastases of HCC.
Kim
T
T
Department of Radiology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan.
Murakami
T
T
Oi
H
H
Matsushita
M
M
Kishimoto
H
H
Igarashi
H
H
Nakamura
H
H
Okamura
J
J
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed