Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-enhanced liver MRI with ferucarbotran: efficacy for characterization of focal XXXX .

@entity1 @entity409 @entity11830 @entity5
PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of @entity11830 in T2-weighted (T2W) fast spin-echo (FSE) and T2*W gradient-echo (GRE) sequences for characterizing focal @entity409 . MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 68 @entity1 , 46 malignant and 22 benign focal @entity409 were evaluated. Precontrast (NCE) T2W FSE images and contrast-enhanced (CE) T2W FSE and T2*W GRE images were obtained on a 1.5T MR system. Based on signal intensity (SI) measurements in focal lesions and liver parenchyma, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were calculated for all sequences. The percentage of SI loss (PSIL) in focal lesions after contrast agent (CA) application was calculated for the T2W FSE sequence. Qualitative analyses were performed to assess image quality and lesion conspicuity obtained with the CE-T2W FSE and CE-T2*W GRE sequences. RESULTS: The mean PSIL was higher in solid benign lesions than in @entity5 (39.6% vs. 3.2%, P<0.05). With a threshold PSIL of 25%, the sensitivity and specificity for characterizing @entity5 were 97.8% and 92.9%, respectively. The mean CNR of the @entity5 was higher in the CE-T2*W sequence than in the CE- and NCE-T2W FSE sequences (29.9 vs. 22.7 (P<0.01) vs. 12.8 (P<0.01)). CE-T2*W images showed a superior image quality and lesion conspicuity (P<0.05) compared to the CE-T2W FSE sequence. CONCLUSION: The PSIL can be an accurate tool for characterizing benign and @entity5 . The addition of a CE-T2*W GRE sequence is helpful for the detection and characterization of @entity5 .
