MR-IMAGING OF HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA - CORRELATION OF METAL CONTENTAND SIGNAL INTENSITY

In order to clarify the factors contributing to the signal intensities (SIs) of HCC on T1-weighted images, the amount of water, lipid, coppe r (Cu), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn) was determined in HCC and surrou nding hepatic parenchyma of 13 patients. The relationships among these findings, the histopathologic findings, and the SIs of T1-weighted im ages were evaluated. Among the 13 HCC, 3 had a high SI, 5 were isointe nse, and 5 had a low SI on T1-weighted images compared to the surround ing hepatic parenchyma. The paramagnetic ions which contributed to the SI patterns were assumed to be Cu in HCC (38.0+/-62.4 mu g/g ww), and Fe in the liver (61.1+/-42.4 mu g/g ww) and HCC (40.0+/-34.3 mu g/g w w). In 8 HCC with high- or isointensity, 2 were grades I, 5 were grade II, and one was grade III according to the Edmondson-Steiner's histop athologic classification. It is concluded that the SI patterns alone c an not be a sign of low grade malignancy because of the existence of F e in livers and HCC.