HEPATOCELLULAR TUMORS - CHARACTERIZATION WITH MN-DPDP-ENHANCED MR-IMAGING

Fifty-eight patients suspected of having focal hepatic disease were st udied prior to and following the intravenous administration of mangane se (II) N,N'-dipyridoxylethylenedi-amine-N,N'-diacetate 5,5'-bis(phosp hate) (DPDP), a hepatobiliary magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agent. Four doses (3, 5, 8, or 10 mumol/kg) of Mn-DPDP were used to test the hypothesis that Mn-DPDP-enhanced MR imaging would display enhancement in tumors of hepatocellular origin. A total of 203 lesions were evalua ted. Histologic proof was available in 32 cases, and in 26 cases lesio ns were evaluated on the basis of characteristic imaging findings. Sta tistical calculations for distinction of tumors of hepatocellular orig in yielded a sensitivity of 100%, a specificity of 92.0%, an accuracy of 93.6%, a positive predictive value of 75.9%, and a negative predict ive value of 100%. The authors conclude that the presence and patterns of enhancement at Mn-DPDP-enhanced MR imaging permit reliable distinc tion between hepatocellular and nonhepatocellular tumors.