title: MR elastography of the liver at 3.0 T in diagnosing liver fibrosis grades; preliminary clinical experience.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To clarify the usefulness of 3.0-T MR elastography (MRE) in diagnosing the histological grades of liver fibrosis using preliminary clinical data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between November 2012 and March 2014, MRE was applied to all patients who underwent liver MR study at a 3.0-T clinical unit. Among them, those who had pathological evaluation of liver tissue within 3 months from MR examinations were retrospectively recruited, and the liver stiffness measured by MRE was correlated with histological results. Institutional review board approved this study, waiving informed consent.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 70 patients who met the inclusion criteria. Liver stiffness showed significant correlation with the pathological grades of liver fibrosis (rho = 0.89, p < 0.0001, Spearman's rank correlation). Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve were 0.93, 0.95, 0.99 and 0.95 for fibrosis score greater than or equal to F1, F2, F3 and F4, with cut-off values of 3.13, 3.85, 4.28 and 5.38 kPa, respectively. Multivariate analysis suggested that grades of necroinflammation also affected liver stiffness, but to a significantly lesser degree as compared to fibrosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  3.0-T clinical MRE was suggested to be sufficiently useful in assessing the grades of liver fibrosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MR elastography may help clinicians assess patients with chronic liver diseases. Usefulness of 3.0-T MR elastography has rarely been reported. Measured liver stiffness correlated well with the histological grades of liver fibrosis. Measured liver stiffness was also affected by necroinflammation, but to a lesser degree. 3.0-T MRE could be a non-invasive alternative to liver biopsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University, 7-45-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka, 801-1011, Japan. kengo@fukuoka-u.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Kengo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshimitsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University, 7-45-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka, 801-1011, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshimichi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mitsufuji
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University, 7-45-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka, 801-1011, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshinobu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Shinagawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University, 7-45-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka, 801-1011, Japan.
authors.forename: Ritsuko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fujimitsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University, 7-45-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka, 801-1011, Japan.
authors.forename: Ayako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University, 7-45-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka, 801-1011, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Urakawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, 7-45-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka, 801-1011, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University, 7-45-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka, 801-1011, Japan.
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Takano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001707:Biopsy, Needle / Q000379:methods; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004548:Elasticity; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009336:Necrosis; D012372:ROC Curve; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: 3.0 T; Chronic liver disease; Fibrosis; MR elastography; Necroinflammation