Magnetic resonance imaging of hepatic lymphoma

The livers of 13 patients with histologically proven hepatic lymphomatous involvement were studied with both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). MRI and CT demonstrated a focal abnormality in only one case. In the other 12 cases in which a focal abnormality was not demonstrated with MRI or CT, calculated T1 and T2 relaxation times in regions of interest in the liver were within 1 SD of their respective normal means. The inability to detect hepatic involvement in most cases was probably due to the diffuse microscopic distribution of lymphoma in the liver and the methodology used for calculating relaxation factors. Thus, with current imaging technology, MRI does not seem to be better than CT for evaluating the liver for lymphomatous involvement.