Comparison of portal venous and delayed phases of gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging study of cirrhotic liver for the detection of contrast washout of hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma.
OBJECTIVE
To retrospectively compare portal venous phase (PVP) and delayed phase (DP) for the detection of tumor washout at gadobenate dimeglumine-enhanced liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in cirrhotic patients with hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).


METHODS
Thirty-three patients with 55 HCCs underwent 1.5-T MRI by means of fat-suppressed T1-weighted sequence obtained before and after gadobenate dimeglumine administration, during early and late arterial phases, PVP (70 seconds), and DP (180 seconds). Detection rates of contrast washout of hypervascular HCCs and tumor-to-liver contrast on PVP and DP were measured and compared.


RESULTS
Among 54 hypervascular HCCs, washout was present in 24 (44%) of 54 tumors on PVP and in 44 (82%) of 54 on DP (P < 0.001). In 20 (37%) of 54 tumors, washout was deemed present only on DP. Delayed phase images yielded significantly higher mean tumor-to-liver contrast absolute values compared with PVP images (-24.5 [56.1] vs -9.3 [52.6], P = 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
Delayed phase is superior to PVP for the washout detection of hypervascular HCC at gadobenate dimeglumine-enhanced MRI of cirrhotic liver.
Cereser
Lorenzo
L
Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Udine, Udine, Italy. lcereser@sirm.org
Furlan
Alessandro
A
Bagatto
Daniele
D
Girometti
Rossano
R
Como
Giuseppe
G
Avellini
Claudio
C
Orsaria
Maria
M
Zuiani
Chiara
C
Bazzocchi
Massimo
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008536:Meglumine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D008875:Middle Aged; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000473:pathology; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D011169:Portal Vein / Q000473:pathology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D003287:Contrast Media; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; C064572:gadobenic acid; D008536:Meglumine