Hepatocellular carcinomas： correlation of enhancement degree with pathologic grades triple contrast MR imaging

Purpose： To correlate the histological differentiation of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) with finding on triple contrast-enhanced MR imaging using gadolinium-chelates, superparamganetic ire oxides (SPIO), and mangafodipir trisodium. Method： Ten patients with proven HCC underwent triple contrast-enhanced MRI befo surgical resection. Subjective ratings of the enhancement pattern and degree were compare with the histological grades determined on surgical specimen. Quantitative measurements signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) of the lesion and the lesion-to-liver contrast-to-noise ratio C/N on the enhanced MR images, and the degree of S/N and C/N changes between the unenhanced and enhanced images were also correlated with the histological grades.