The Preliminary Research On Evaluating HCCs (Diameter≤30 Mm) Differentiation Using Of Gd-EOB-DTPA Enhanced MRI In Hepatobiliary Phase

OBJECTIVE:The purpose of this study was to assess whether the hepatobiliary phase of Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging could predict thethe differentiation of HCCs (diameter≤30 mm).MATERIALS AND METHODS:The MRI images of 44 HCCs (diameter≤30 mm) with pathologically-confirmed hepatocellular carcinomas were retrospectively analyzed. All these lessions underwent MR imaging including plain T1 weighted imaging and hepatobiliary phase imaging. The signal-to-noise ratios and enhancement rates of HCC, lesion-to-liver contrast-to-noise ratios were assessed to generalize the hepatobiliary phase features and the key points in evaluating the different differentiation of HCCs.RESULT: All HCC nodules appear hypointense in the hepatobiliary phase using Gd-EOB-DTPA, but there were no significant differences in the changes in signal-to-noise ratio, contrast-to-noise ratio and enhancement rate between well and poor differentiation in hepatobiliary phase (P>0.05).CONCLUSION: Hepatobiliary phase imaging is useful for the detection of all grades of HCC. But the enhancement degree of nodules in the hepatobiliary phase of Gd-EOB-DTPA enhanced MR imaging negatively correlated with levels of differentiation.