Differential diagnosis of hepatic tumors with delayed enhancement at gadolinium-enhanced MRI: a pictorial essay

Abstract

Hepatic lesions with delayed enhancement are sometimes encountered on gadolinium-enhanced MRI of the liver. This study illustrates the varied appearances of several pathologic entities with delayed enhancement, including hepatic hemangioma, hepatic metastases, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, focal nodular hyperplasia, hepatic abscess, hepatocellular carcinoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma after transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, and presents the utility of arterial-phase dynamic MRI in the differential diagnosis of these lesions. Possible causes of these delayed enhancements are also discussed.