Feasibility of Quadruple Arterial Phase of Motion Insensitive Radial Volumetric Imaging Breath-Hold Examination with k-Space Weighted Image Contrast in the Detection of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Patients with Chronic Liver Disease

Abstract

Purpose To evaluate the detection performance of hepatocellular carcinoma and image quality in patients with chronic liver disease with quadruple arterial MR imaging using radial volumetric imaging breath-hold examination (VIBE) with k-space weighted image contrast (KWIC). Materials and Methods Forty-four patients underwent liver MR examinations with quadruple arterial imaging using radial VIBE-KWIC sequence (full-frame and four sub-frame images). Diagnostic performance was evaluated with receiver operating characteristics (ROC) for detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. The image quality and severity of artifact were scored by using the five-point scale. Results The area under the ROC curve (Az) value of Hepatocelluar Carcinoma (HCC) detectability was the highest on third sub-frame images, followed by full-frame images. The Az values of third sub-frame and full-frame about the detection of HCC were statistically significantly different from the Az value of first sub-frame images. The full-frame and four sub-frame images showed acceptable image quality and low degree artifact with rating of higher than grade 3. Conclusion Quadruple arterial MRI using radial VIBE-KWIC is a feasible method for detecting hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic liver disease without deterioration of image quality. The third sub-frame and full-frame image are superior to other sub-frame images in detecting hepatocellular carcinoma.

Keywords

• carcinoma
• hepatocelluar
• magnetic resonance imaging
• gadolinium ethoxybenzyl dtpa
• breath-holding