Can MRI detect liver metastasis?

MR imaging with gadolinium chelates offers an accurate non-radiation based imaging test for detection of liver metastases. Liver specific MR contrast agents (hepatobiliary and reticuloendothelial agents) offer greater lesion-to-liver contrast than the conventional extracellular agents (gadolinium chelates).

Can MRI detect liver cysts?

MRI is the best imaging modality for detecting wall enhancement. Knowledge of the imaging features of the most common types of cystic liver lesions should enable an accurate diagnosis to be made and should potentially avoid the need for cyst aspiration or needle biopsy.

How accurate is MRI in detecting liver cancer?

MRI had an extremely high accuracy rate (96.77%) on its own. In cases larger than 15 mm, MRI was 100% accurate. Based on this evidence, MRI could easily be used as a more accurate method of confirming malignancy in small nodules and help with the early diagnoses of HCC.

Do liver metastases look like cysts?

Liver is the third most frequent metastatic site, and liver metastases usually present as solitary or multiple solid masses on imaging, while cystic appearance is extremely rare.

Can liver metastases be benign?

Sometimes, abnormal cells or tissues – referred to as a liver mass or liver lesion – develop on the liver. They can either be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

Is MRI better than ultrasound for liver?

When surveilling cirrhosis-stricken patients for hepatocellular carcinoma—or HCC, the frequently incurable cancer that starts in the liver and sometimes follows cirrhosis—MRI with liver-specific contrast can be a better diagnostic performer than ultrasound, the guideline-recommended screening tool for such situations.

Is CT or MRI better for liver?

Such survey examinations are best undertaken with a contrast-enhanced CT study since CT has high sensibility (93%) and specificity (100%) for detecting hepatic metastases [7]. While US and MRI also have similar accuracy, CT is preferred because it out-performs US and MRI for evaluating the extra-hepatic abdomen [8].

How are hepatic metastases related to cystic liver lesions?

Cystic hepatic metastases are part of the differential of cystic liver lesions. There is an overlap in imaging appearance with hepatic abscess. Classically, hepatic metastases are favored if there are multiple lesions (~98% of cases).

How are CT and Mr used to detect liver metastases?

The use of smaller interscan spacing (4 versus 8 mm) in the reconstruction of images from a helical CT data set increased confidence in and sensitivity of detection for focal primary and metastatic liver lesions, as shown in 1993 by Urban et al. [ 20 ]. Most metastases are revealed as low- or isoattenuating masses on CT.

Which is better MRI or CT for liver lesions?

MR imaging has several advantages over CT such as no risks from radiation exposure and no adverse reactions to iodinated contrast agents. Indeed, MR is rapidly evolving as the primary imaging modality for the detection and characterization of liver lesions including metastases in many centers[2].

What are the radiographic features of liver metastatic disease?

Radiographic features. One of the main difficulties in liver imaging for metastatic disease is the high prevalence of benign liver lesions that can be misinterpreted as evidence of metastatic disease, thus dramatically changing a patients stage, and therefore treatment options.