title: Differentiation between hemangiomas and cysts of the liver with single-shot fast-spin echo image using short and long TE.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study was designed to examine whether hepatic hemangioma can be differentiated from cyst by use of single-shot fast spin echo (SSFSE) sequence without contrast material.
  
  
  METHODS
  SSFSE images with a short TE (90 msec) and a long TE (600-700 msec) were obtained in 30 patients with cyst (n= 19) or hemangioma (n= 26) on a 1.5-T unit. In short TE, both cysts and hemangiomas showed well-defined hyperintense masses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In long TE, however, cysts showed well-defined hyperintense masses, whereas hemangiomas were poorly defined faint masses with intermediate signal intensity. The contrast-to-noise ratio of hemangiomas and cysts were 3.23 and 52.9 (p < 0.001) in long TE; there was no overlap for the ranges, and the result did not depend on lesion size. All 45 lesions were differentiated correctly with these qualitative criteria.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  SSFSE with short and long TE is useful in the evaluation of cyst and hemangioma of the liver.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan. kiryu-tky@umin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Shigeru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kiryu
authors.forename: Yoshitaka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Kuni
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohtomo
mesh_terms: D003560:Cysts / Q000473:pathology*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006391:Hemangioma / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged