FOCAL LIVER-LESIONS - CHARACTERIZATION WITH NONENHANCED AND DYNAMIC CONTRAST MATERIAL-ENHANCED MR-IMAGING

PURPOSE: To evaluate prospectively the diagnostic accuracy of nonenhan ced and gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in charact erization of hepatic lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-five patien ts with benign and 52 patients with malignant focal liver lesions unde rwent examination at 1.5 T that comprised nonenhanced and dynamic cont rast material-enhanced images. Four experienced radiologists independe ntly read the different sets of images without and with knowledge of c linical history. RESULTS: Receiver operating characteristic analysis s howed that dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging added information to n onenhanced MR studies and thereby improved distinction between benign and malignant lesions (P < .05). Knowledge of clinical data further im proved lesion characterization with nonenhanced and combined nonenhanc ed and contrast-enhanced MR imaging (P < .05). CONCLUSION: Dynamic con trast-enhanced MR imaging is a useful adjunct for characterization of hepatic lesions. Knowledge of clinical history still has a decisive ef fect on interpretation of MR images of the liver.