Evaluation of combined Gd-EOB-DTPA and gadobutrol magnetic resonance imaging for the prediction of hepatocellular carcinoma grading

Background Tumor biopsy is not essential for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, grading remains important for the prognosis.Purpose To investigate whether combined Gd-EOB-DTPA and gadobutrol liver magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can predict HCC grading.Material and Methods Thirty patients (66.6 ± 7.3 years) with histologically confirmed HCC (grade 1, n = 5; grade 1–2, n = 6; grade 2, n = 13; grade 2–3, n = 2; grade 3, n = 4) underwent two liver MRIs, one with gadobutrol and one with Gd-EOB-DTPA, on consecutive days. Blinded to grading, two radiologists reviewed the gadobutrol and Gd-EOB-DTPA images in consensus with respect to: (i) HCC hyper-/iso-/hypointensity in the arterial, portal-venous/delayed, and Gd-EOB-DTPA hepatocellular phase; and (ii) morphologic tumor features (encapsulated growth, vessel invasion, heterogeneity, liver capsule infiltration, satellite metastases).Results A significant correlation with grading was not found for either the combined dynamic information of ...