title: 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.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Udine, Udine, Italy. lcereser@sirm.org
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cereser
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Furlan
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bagatto
authors.forename: Rossano
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Girometti
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Como
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Avellini
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orsaria
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zuiani
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bazzocchi
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; C064572:gadobenic acid; D008536:Meglumine