Yonago Acta medica 1997;40:117–123
Chondroitin Sulfate Iron Colloid-Enhanced MR Imaging in Patients with Small Hepatocellular Carcinomas: Correlations with Hemodynamic and Pathologic Examinations
Masayuki Kamba, Yuji Suto, Fumiko Kodama, Shuji Sugihara and Kotaro Yoshida
Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago 683, Japan
To determine the usefulness of chondroitin sulfate iron colloid (CSIC)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in evaluation of the histologic grade of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), we performed a comparative study with computed tomography during arterial portography (CTAP) and CT arteriography. Twenty-one surgically resected HCCs 3 cm or less in diameter were examined. There were five well- differentiated, six well- to moderately-differentiated and ten moderately- or poorly-differentiated HCCs. T2-weighted spin echo images (repetition time: 2,000 ms, echo time: 90 ms) were taken before and after intravenous injection of 23.6 µmol Fe/kg of CSIC. The differences between precontrast and postcontrast contrast-to-noise ratios (enhancement index) was correlated with the findings of CTAP, CT arteriography and
histological examination. The enhancement index increased with statistical significance as the intranodular arterial perfusion increased (P < 0.01), and as the intranodular portal perfusion decreased (P < 0.01). Though the enhancement index tended to increase as the grade of malignancy increased, no statistical significance was found.
CSIC-enhanced MRI allowed a noninvasive evaluation of the intranodular reticuloendothelial function. We consider this procedure as a supplementary method for evaluation of the histologic grade of HCC prior to performing invasive procedures
such as angiography and biopsy.
Key words: computed tomography; contrast enhancement; iron colloid; hepatocellular carcinoma; magnetic resonance imaging
