[Magnetic resonance in surgical planning in hepatocarcinomas]

The diagnostic accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) in the preoperative staging of unifocal hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was investigated and compared with that of ultrasonography (US) and Computed Tomography (CT). Eighteen patients with focal HCCs underwent MRI, CT and US scans before surgery. In all cases the histopathologic diagnosis was made with CT-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB). The diagnostic accuracy of each imaging modality was investigated with the assessment of three parameters thought to be of the utmost importance for surgical planning, i.e., lesion unifocality, the presence of a capsule and finally vascular involvement. MRI proved to be more sensitive than CT in demonstrating both lesion unifocality (100% vs. 94.4%) and the presence of a capsule (100% vs. 71.4%). In 2 of 18 patients some blood vessels were involved, which was clearly demonstrated only by MRI, CT missing it. Both MRI and CT had 100% specificity in the detection of a perilesional capsule and of vascular involvement. To conclude, MRI exhibited higher diagnostic accuracy than US and CT, thus confirming its major role in the preoperative staging of unifocal HCCs.