Related Experiment Video For Superparamagnetic iron oxide-enhanced MRI, MDCT
Updated: Jun 25, 2026
Mast Cells in the Microenvironment of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Confer Favorable Prognosis: A Retrospective Study using QuPath Image Analysis Software
Published on: April 12, 2024
SPIO-enhanced MRI findings of well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinomas: correlation with MDCT findings
Seong Hyun Kim1, Won Jae Lee, Hyo K Lim
1Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 135-710, Korea. kshyun@skku.edu
Objective:
This study was designed to assess superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-enhanced MRI findings of well-differentiated hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) correlated with their multidetector-row CT (MDCT) findings.
Materials And Methods:
Seventy-two patients with 84 pathologically proven well-differentiated HCCs underwent triple-phase MDCT and SPIO-enhanced MRI at a magnetic field strength of 1.5 Tesla (n = 49) and 3.0 Tesla (n = 23). Two radiologists in consensus retrospectively reviewed the CT and MR images for attenuation value and the signal intensity of each tumor. The proportion of hyperintense HCCs as depicted on SPIO-enhanced T2- or T2(*)-weighted images were compared in terms of tumor size (< 1 cm and > 1 cm), five CT attenuation patterns based on arterial and equilibrium phases and magnetic field strength, by the use of univariate and multivariate analyses.
Results:
Seventy-eight (93%) and 71 (85%) HCCs were identified by CT and on SPIO-enhanced T2- and T2(*)-weighted images, respectively. For the CT attenuation pattern, one (14%) of seven isodense-isodense, four (67%) of six hypodense-hypodense, four (80%) of five isodense-hypodense, 14 (88%) of 16 hyperdense-isodense and 48 (96%) of 50 hyperdense-hypodense HCCs were hyperintense (Cochran-Armitage test for trend, p < 0.001). Based on the use of multivariate analysis, the CT attenuation pattern was the only factor that affected the proportion of hyperintense HCCs as depicted on SPIO-enhanced T2- or T2(*)-weighted images (p < 0.001). Tumor size or magnetic field strength was not a factor that affected the proportion of hyperintense HCCs based on the use of univariate and multivariate analysis (p > 0.05).
Conclusion:
Most well-differentiated HCCs show hyperintensity on SPIO-enhanced MRI, although the lesions show various CT attenuation patterns. The CT attenuation pattern is the main factor that affects the proportion of hyperintense well-differentiated HCCs as depicted on SPIO-enhanced MRI.
