title: Gd-EOB-DTPA-Enhanced MR Imaging of the Liver: The Effect on T2 Relaxation Times and Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  To investigate the effect of gadoxetic acid disodium (Gd-EOB-DTPA) on T2 relaxation times and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the liver and focal liver lesions on a 1.5-T system.
  
  
  METHODS
  Magnetic resonance (MR) studies of 50 patients with 35 liver lesions were retrospectively analyzed. All examinations were performed at 1.5T and included T2-weighted turbo spin-echo (TSE) and diffusion-weighted (DW) images acquired before and after intravenous administration of Gd-EOB-DTPA. To assess the effect of this hepatobiliary contrast agent on T2-weighted TSE images and DW images T2 relaxation times and ADC values of the liver and FLLs were calculated and compared pre- and post-injection.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean T2 relaxation times of the liver and focal hepatic lesions were lower on enhanced than on unenhanced T2-weighted TSE images (decrease of 2.7% and 3.6% respectively), although these differences were not statistically significant. The mean ADC values of the liver showed statistically significant decrease (of 4.6%) on contrast-enhanced DW images, compared to unenhanced images (P>0.05). The mean ADC value of liver lesions was lower on enhanced than on unenhanced DW images, but this difference (of 2.9%) did not reach statistical significance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The mean T2 relaxation times of the liver and focal liver lesions as well as the mean ADC values of liver lesions were not significantly different before and after administration of Gd-EOB-DTPA. Therefore, acquisition of T2-weighted and DW images between the dynamic contrast-enhanced examination and hepatobiliary phase is feasible and time-saving.
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Clinical Radiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; Department of Radiology I, Maria Skłodowska-Curie Memorial Cancer Center, Institute of Oncology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cieszanowski
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Clinical Radiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Podgórska
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Clinical Radiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Grzegorz
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rosiak
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Clinical Radiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Edyta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maj
authors.affiliation: Department of Toxicology, Medical University of Warsaw, Faculty of Pharmacy, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Ireneusz P
authors.initials: IP
authors.lastname: Grudziński
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Informatics and Telemedicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Bartosz
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kaczyński
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Clinical Radiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Wojciech
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Szeszkowski
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Clinical Radiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Milczarek
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Clinical Radiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Olgierd
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rowiński
keywords: Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Liver Neoplasms; Magnetic Resonance Imaging