DYNAMIC BREATH-HOLD MULTIPLANAR SPOILED GRADIENT-RECALLED MR-IMAGING WITH GADOLINIUM ENHANCEMENT FOR DIFFERENTIATING HEPATIC HEMANGIOMAS FROM MALIGNANCIES AT 1.5-T
Ws. Whitney et al., DYNAMIC BREATH-HOLD MULTIPLANAR SPOILED GRADIENT-RECALLED MR-IMAGING WITH GADOLINIUM ENHANCEMENT FOR DIFFERENTIATING HEPATIC HEMANGIOMAS FROM MALIGNANCIES AT 1.5-T, Radiology, 189(3), 1993, pp. 863-870
PURPOSE: To compare the enhancement patterns of focal liver lesions at
dynamic breath-hold gadolinium-enhanced multiplanar spoiled gradient-
recalled (SPGR) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with T2 relaxation tim
es in the differentiation of liver hemangiomas from malignancies. MATE
RIALS AND METHODS: Forty-seven patients with focal liver lesions under
went MR imaging with spin-echo and gadolinium-enhanced multiplanar SPG
R techniques. T2 relaxation times and enhancement patterns were compar
ed for accuracy in liver lesion characterization. RESULTS: Enhancement
patterns allowed better characterization of liver lesions than did T2
relaxation times. Only specific patterns of contrast enhancement indi
cated a hemangioma. Although 18 of the 33 malignancies and 10 of the 1
2 hemangiomas showed progressive centripetal hyperintense enhancement,
only hemangiomas filled in with hyperintense peripheral nodules. Mali
gnancies often filled in with hyperintense thick rinds. CONCLUSION: Ga
dolinium-enhanced multiplanar SPGR imaging allows more accurate charac
terization of liver lesions than does T2 relaxation time.