T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of the liver: evaluation of the effect in signal intensity after Gd-EOB-DTPA enhancement

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effect of gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) on T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging of liver parenchyma.

Methods: Forty-six patients with suspected hepatic tumors (group 1) underwent breath-hold T2-weighted fast spin echo imaging before and after 4 minutes of Gd-EOB-DTPA enhancement. Visual assessment and signal intensity (SI) measurements were performed to evaluate the effects of Gd-EOB-DTPA on the T2-weighted images of the liver. Thirteen healthy volunteers (Group 2) who underwent magnetic resonance imaging before and after 35 minutes of Gd-EOB-DTPA enhancement were also evaluated.

Results: In the qualitative analysis, visual SI of hepatic vessels after enhancement was significantly higher than that before enhancement (P < 0.001) in group 1, although there was no significant difference in the visual SI of liver parenchyma between before and after enhancement. In the quantitative analysis, SI ratio of liver parenchyma on enhanced images was significantly higher than that on unenhanced images (P < 0.001) in group 1. Conversely, the SI ratio (P < 0.001) and the visual SI (P = 0.008) in group 2 were significantly lower on the enhanced images than on the unenhanced images.

Conclusions: The T2-weighted images obtained during the early phase after enhancement will appear similar to those of the unenhanced T2-weighted images, whereas later images will show a reduced signal of the liver parenchyma.