Articles: liver-neoplasms-diagnosis.
-
J Magn Reson Imaging · Mar 1996
Malignant lesions of the liver with high signal intensity on T1-weighted MR images.
Our purpose was to identify the histologic types of malignant liver lesions with high signal intensity (SI) on T1-weighted images and to describe the MR imaging features. Thirteen patients with malignant liver lesions high in SI on T1-weighted images were studied with a 1.5-T MR imager using pre- and serial postcontrast spoiled gradient-echo (SGE) sequences (all patients), T2-weighted fat-suppressed spin-echo sequences (all patients), precontrast T1-weighted fat-suppressed spin-echo sequences (five studies in five patients), and precontrast out-of-phase SGE sequences (seven studies in six patients). Images were reviewed retrospectively to determine number of lesions; lesion size; SI of lesions on T1-weighted, T2-weighted, and fat-attenuated T1-weighted images; distribution of high SI in lesions on T1-weighted images; and tumor enhancement pattern. ⋯ In one patient with melanoma metastases and one patient with multiple myeloma nodules, appreciably more lesions were detected on out-of phase SGE images. Causes of hyperintensity were considered to be either fat, melanin central hemorrhage, or high protein content, all of which may be seen in a variety of tumors. Fat-attenuation techniques are helpful in the detection of these lesions.
-
Comparative Study
Breath-hold MR imaging of focal liver lesions: comparison of fast and ultrasound techniques.
The performance of breath-hold MR imaging using two T2-weighted hybrid sequences (TSE, TGSE), two T2-weighted single-shot sequences (HASTE, EPI-SE), and one T1-weighted gradient-echo sequence (FLASH) was compared with a standard conventional T2-weighted SE sequence in 20 patients with focal liver lesions. Liver signal-to-noise ratio was highest for the FLASH sequence (54.3 +/- 8.3) and the HASTE (41.1 +/- 12.5) sequence, whereas the highest spleen-liver contrast-to-noise ratio was obtained by the TSE sequence (38.9 +/- 20.7). ⋯ With both TSE and HASTE significantly (p < 0.01) more lesions were detected as compared with SE and EPI-SE sequences. Our results indicate that breath-hold TSE and HASTE sequences will eventually replace conventional T2-weighted SE techniques, due to their insensitivity to motion artifacts, superior lesion detectability and inherently short acquisition times.
-
The purpose of this study was to assess the value of fast-spin-echo (FSE) sequences without and with fat suppression as well as gradient-and-spin-echo (GRASE) sequences for the detection and subsequent characterization of focal liver lesions. A total of 51 consecutive patients with clinically suspected focal liver lesions were studied. ⋯ Fat suppression did not improve the performance of FSE. GRASE sequences with multiple excitations were clinically superior to the faster single-shot approach.
-
To determine the efficacy of fast MRI techniques using a tailored imaging design (breathhold and array-surface coil), conventional T1-, T2-weighted spin-echo (SE) sequences and breathhold gradient-echo (GRE) T1- and breathhold fast SE T2-weighted images were compared. ⋯ The fast MRI techniques demonstrated a superiority to conventional imaging regarding image quality and presence of artifacts. Therefore, fast imaging techniques can replace conventional techniques, at least in patients that can sufficiently sustain breathing.
-
In order to evaluate a monoclonal antibody KM01 which was developed in mice immunized against a human colon carcinoma cell line, serum levels of KM01 and other tumor markers were studied in patients with both hepatocellular carcinoma and liver cirrhosis and in patients with liver cirrhosis alone. The KM01 levels in the sera of 50 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma plus liver cirrhosis and 50 patients with liver cirrhosis were measured using an enzyme immunoassay method and compared with various tumor markers including alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), DUPAN-2, and protein induced vitamin K absence or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II). The mean serum level (+/- S. ⋯ Three out of 9 cases showing negative serum AFP levels had positive serum KM01 levels. Although the sensitivity of serum KM01 level for hepatocellular carcinoma was inferior to serum AFP and plasma PIVKA-II values, the sensitivity of a combination assay of serum KM01 or AFP was increased to 88%. Clinical data of the patients with markedly elevated serum KM01 levels (more than 1000 units/ml) were compared with patients with moderately elevated levels (530-1000 units/ml); serum bilirubin and alkaline-phosphatase were statistically higher in the former group (P < 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)