Dynamic MR follow-up of small hepatocellular carcinoma after percutaneous ethanol injection therapy

For patients with small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) treated by percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) therapy, dynamic MRI has been performed to evaluate the therapeutic efficacy at our institute. In this pictorial essay, we illustrate the various dynamic MR findings of HCCs after PEI therapy, including complete necrosis, partial necrosis, local recurrence, and pathologic conditions such as arterioportal shunt and contractive changes of hepatic parenchyma. We also present the limitation of dynamic MRI in the evaluation of therapeutic effectiveness of PEI therapy.