The staging of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease fibrosis: A comparative study of MR elastography and the quantitative DCE-MRI exchange model
Hao Ren,
Dawei Yang,
Hui Xu,
Xiaofei Tong,
Xinyan Zhao,
Qianyi Wang,
Yameng Sun,
Xiaojuan Ou,
Jidong Jia,
Hong You,
Zhenchang Wang,
Zhenghan Yang
Affiliations
Hao Ren
Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Yongan Road 95, West District, Beijing, 100050, China
Dawei Yang
Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Yongan Road 95, West District, Beijing, 100050, China
Hui Xu
Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Yongan Road 95, West District, Beijing, 100050, China
Xiaofei Tong
Liver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95 Yongan Road, West District, Beijing, 100050, China
Xinyan Zhao
Liver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95 Yongan Road, West District, Beijing, 100050, China
Qianyi Wang
Liver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95 Yongan Road, West District, Beijing, 100050, China
Yameng Sun
Liver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95 Yongan Road, West District, Beijing, 100050, China
Xiaojuan Ou
Liver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95 Yongan Road, West District, Beijing, 100050, China
Jidong Jia
Liver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95 Yongan Road, West District, Beijing, 100050, China
Hong You
Liver Research Center, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, No. 95 Yongan Road, West District, Beijing, 100050, China
Zhenchang Wang
Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Yongan Road 95, West District, Beijing, 100050, China
Zhenghan Yang
Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Yongan Road 95, West District, Beijing, 100050, China; Corresponding author.
Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy and image processing time of the dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI (DCE-MRI) exchange model in liver fibrosis staging and compare it to the efficacy of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). Methods: The subjects were 45 patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who underwent MRE and DCE-MRI in our hospital. Liver biopsy results were available for all patients. Spearman rank correlation coefficients were used to compare the correlations among MRE, DCE-MRI and liver fibrosis parameters. Quantitative DCE-MRI parameters, MRE-derived liver stiffness measurement (LSM), and the results of a combined DCE-MRI + MRE logistic regression model were compared in terms of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). We also compared the scanning and postprocessing times of the MRE and DCE-MRI techniques. Results: The correlation coefficients between the following parameters of interest and liver fibrosis were as follows: capillary permeability–surface area product (PS; DCE-MRI parameter), −0.761; portal blood flow (Fp; DCE-MRI parameter), −0.754; MRE-LSM, 0.835. Some DCE-MRI parameters (PS, Fp) had slightly greater AUC values than MRE-LSM for diagnosing the presence or absence of liver fibrosis, and the combined model had the highest AUC value for all stages except F4, but there was no significant difference in the diagnostic efficacy of the DCE-MRI, MRE, and combined models for any stage of fibrosis. The average scanning times for MRE and DCE-MRI were 17 s and 330 s, respectively, and the average postprocessing times were 45.5 s and 342.7 s, respectively. Conclusions: In the absence of MRE equipment, DCE-MRI represents an alternative technique. However, MRE is a quicker and simpler method for assessing fibrosis than DCE-MRI in the clinic.
