Incidental focal solid liver lesions: diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and MR imaging

Abstract

Objective: To prospectively assess the diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and MR imaging in incidental solid focal liver lesions not characterised on ultrasound.

Materials and methods: Forty-seven patients with 50 lesions underwent MR imaging and CEUS: 24 focal nodular hyperplasias (FNH), 11 adenomas, 10 haemangiomas, 1 focal fatty change and 4 malignant lesions were identified. Two experienced radiologists randomly reviewed contrast-enhanced MR imaging and CEUS data, and provided the most likely diagnosis. Sensitivity (Se), specificity (Sp), likelihood ratios (LR) and kappa value were calculated.

Results: A histotype diagnosis was obtained in 66-52% with MR imaging and 52-53% with CEUS, respectively, for both readers. Se, Sp and LR for haemangioma were 100-100, 100-100 and 78-78 with MR imaging and 89-89, 100-100 and 68-70 with CEUS; for FNH with MR imaging they were 88-63, 96-100 and 23-34 and 74-67, 88-96 and 6-17 with CEUS. If the diagnosis of haemangioma was uncertain with CEUS, MR imaging always confirmed the diagnosis. If the diagnosis of FNH was uncertain with either CEUS or MR imaging, the other imaging technique confirmed the diagnosis in approximately half the cases.

Conclusion: Both CEUS and MR imaging have a high diagnostic performance in incidental focal liver lesions and are complementary when diagnosis is uncertain.