DYNAMIC MR FOLLOW-UP OF SMALL HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA AFTER PERCUTANEOUS ETHANOL INJECTION THERAPY

For patients with small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) treated by pe rcutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) therapy, dynamic MRI has been perfo rmed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy at our institute. In this pi ctorial essay, we illustrate the various dynamic MR findings of HCCs a fter PEI therapy, including complete necrosis, partial necrosis, local recurrence, and pathologic conditions such as arterioportal shunt and contractive changes of hepatic parenchyma. We also present the limita tion of dynamic MRI in the evaluation of therapeutic effectiveness of PEI therapy.