Quantitative MRI of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic and noncirrhotic livers

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhotic and noncirrhotic livers was reviewed in 26 Japanese patients. Thirteen of the 15 HCC from noncirrhotic livers were iso- to low intense to surrounding parenchyma on T1-weighted spin-echo (SE) images. In contrast, seven of the 11 HCC in cirrhotic livers were high intense (p < 0.05). Signal intensity ratio and contrast-to-noise ratios of HCC in cirrhotic livers on T1-weighted images were higher (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively) than those of HCC in noncirrhotic livers.