title: Depiction and characterization of liver lesions in whole body [¹⁸F]-FDG PET/MRI.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the value of PET/MRI with [(18)F]-FDG using a whole body protocol for the depiction and characterization of liver lesions in comparison to PET/CT.
  
  
  METHODS
  70 patients (31 women, 39 men) with solid tumors underwent [(18)F]-FDG PET/CT and followed by an additional PET/MRI using an integrated scanner. Two readers rated the datasets (PET/CT; PET/MRI) regarding conspicuity of hepatic lesions (4-point ordinal scale) and diagnostic confidence (5-point ordinal scale). Median scores for lesion conspicuity and diagnostic confidence were compared using Wilcoxon's rank sum test. Prior examinations, histopathology and clinical follow-up (116 ± 54 days) served as standard of reference.
  
  
  RESULTS
  36 of 70 (51%) patients showed liver lesions. Using PET/CT and PET/MRI all patients with liver metastases could correctly be identified. A total of 97 lesions were found (malignant n=26; benign n=71). For lesion conspicuity significantly higher scores were obtained for PET/MRI in comparison to PET/CT (p<0.001). Significantly better performance for diagnostic confidence was observed in PET/MRI, both for malignant as for benign lesions (p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PET/MRI, even in the setting of a whole body approach, provides higher lesion conspicuity and diagnostic confidence compared to PET/CT and may therefore evolve as an attractive alternative in oncologic imaging.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany. Electronic address: karsten.beiderwellen@uk-essen.de.
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beiderwellen
authors.forename: Benedikt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gomez
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Buchbender
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Hartung
authors.forename: Thorsten D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: Poeppel
authors.forename: Felix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nensa
authors.forename: Hilmar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kuehl
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bockisch
authors.forename: Thomas C
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Lauenstein
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D051598:Whole Body Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18
keywords: Liver metastases; PET/CT; PET/MRI