Evaluation of liver function using Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI with T1 mapping

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Hepatology

Background:

• Assessing liver function is crucial for managing liver diseases.
• Current methods often rely on invasive procedures or complex clinical scores.
• Noninvasive imaging biomarkers are needed for accurate liver function evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic value of MRI T1 mapping with Gd-EOB-DTPA for assessing liver function.
• To correlate MRI T1 mapping parameters with established liver function scores (Child-Pugh and ALBI).

Main Methods:

• Seventy-two patients with focal liver lesions underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI with variable-flip-angle T1 mapping.
• T1 mapping was performed pre- and post-contrast.
• Liver function was assessed using Child-Pugh (C-P) score and Albumin-Bilirubin (ALBI) grade.

Main Results:

• Post-contrast T1 values (T1post) and the change in T1 values (ΔT1) showed strong correlations with both C-P and ALBI grades.
• ΔT1 demonstrated superior diagnostic efficiency compared to T1post in differentiating liver function grades.
• Significant differences in T1post and ΔT1 were observed across various liver function severity levels.

Conclusions:

• MRI T1 mapping with Gd-EOB-DTPA provides reliable, noninvasive imaging indices for evaluating liver function.
• ΔT1 is a promising parameter for assessing liver function severity.
• This technique can aid in the noninvasive assessment of liver function in clinical practice.