title: Magnetic resonance elastography for staging liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  We evaluated the use of magnetic resonance (MR) elastography (MRE) for staging liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C and compared the ability of MRE and serum fibrosis markers for discriminating each stage of fibrosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated 114 patients with chronic hepatitis C in whom the pathological fibrosis stage was determined (fibrosis stage 0 [F0], 3; F1, 15; F2, 28; F3, 25; and F4, 43). All patients underwent MRE using a 1.5-tesla MR system and pneumatic driver system. We measured stiffness values (kPa) of the liver in a circular region of interest placed on elastograms. We determined the optimal cutoff value and diagnostic ability for discriminating each stage of fibrosis using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and compared the discriminative ability of MRE with that of serum fibrosis markers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean stiffness values of the liver increased with stage of fibrosis: F0, 2.10±0.10 kPa; F1, 2.42±0.29 kPa; F2, 3.16±0.32 kPa; F3, 4.21±0.78 kPa; and F4, 6.20±1.08 kPa. The mean area under the ROC curve (Az) values for discriminating liver fibrosis stages were: ≥F1, 0.984 (95% confidence interval, 0.933-0.996); ≥F2, 0.986 (0.956-0.996); ≥F3, 0.973 (0.935-0.989); and ≥F4, 0.976 (0.945-0.990). The Az values for discriminating fibrosis stages were significantly higher for MRE than serum fibrosis markers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MRE is a reliable technique for staging liver fibrosis and discriminating liver fibrosis stages in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, Japan.
authors.forename: Shintaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Utaroh
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Motosugi
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ichikawa
authors.forename: Katsuhiro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sano
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Morisaka
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Enomoto
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Araki
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers