Efficacy of dynamic enhancement effects on Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI for estimation of liver function assessed by 13C- Methacetin breath test

Abstract

Purpose: Contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is able to assess liver function by characteristic changes of signal intensity (SI).The aim was to evaluate dynamic contrast-enhanced SI-indices of the abdominal aorta, portal vein and liver.

Methods: 72 patients underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI and a 13C-methacetin-based liver breath test (13C-MBT) for evaluation of liver function. Region-of-interest measurements in the liver, abdominal aorta and portal vein during native, arterial (AP), late arterial (LAP), portal venous (PVP) and hepatobiliary phase (HBP) were applied to analyze SI-indices in T1-weighted volume-interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) sequences with fat-suppression and relative enhancement (RE) analysis was performed.

Results: The liver (p < 0.001), the portal vein (p < 0.001) and abdominal aorta (p = 0.002) showed significant decrease of REs with decreasing liver function. An increasing trend between logarithmic values of 13C-MBT and REs of hepatic parenchyma (HBP; r = 0.662, p < 0.001), portal vein (PVP; r = 0.532, p < 0.001) and abdominal aorta (PVP; r = 0.421, p < 0.001) was observed.

Conclusions: RE measurements of the hepatic parenchyma proofed to be a trustable evaluation method for liver function evaluation. In accordance with liver function, changes of REs in the portal vein and abdominal aorta occur.

Keywords: 13C-methacetin liver function breath test; Dynamic contrast enhanced MRI; HCC; abdominal aorta; hepatic parenchyma; liver metastases; portal vein; relative enhancement; signal intensity.