HYPERVASCULAR MALIGNANT LIVER-LESIONS - COMPARISON OF VARIOUS MR-IMAGING PULSE SEQUENCES AND DYNAMIC CT

PURPOSE: To compare the appearance of hypervascular liver lesions on g adolinium-enhanced fast low-angle shot (FLASH) imaging with T2-weighte d fat-suppressed spin-echo imaging, dynamic nonequilibrium-phase FLASH imaging, and dynamic nonequilibrium-phase iodine-enhanced computed to mography (CT) and to characterize the appearance of lesions on serial postgadolinium FLASH images. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine patien ts with hypervascular malignant liver lesions were examined with dynam ic contrast-enhanced CT and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging within a 1 -month interval, MR sequences included T2-weighted fat-suppression, pr econtrast FLASH, and postgadolinium FLASH at 1 second (sinusoid phase) , 45 seconds (nonequilibrium phase), and 10 minutes. RESULTS: More tha n five lesions were detected in 12 patients with CT, 15 patients with T2-weighted fat-suppression imaging, 16 with sinusoid-phase FLASH imag ing, and 11 with nonequilibrium-phase FLASH imaging. In six patients, a statistically significant (P = .03) increase in the number of lesion s detected, by category, was observed on sinusoid-phase FLASH images c ompared with CT images.CONCLUSION: Sinusoid-phase FLASH imaging is sup erior to nonequilibrium-phase imaging with MR or CT for the demonstrat ion of hypervascular malignant lesions.