Liver perfusion in dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI): comparison of enhancement in Gd-BT-DO3A and Gd-EOB-DTPA in normal liver parenchyma

Purpose Within-patient comparison of the enhancement patterns of normal liver parenchyma after gadobutrol and gadoxetate disodium, with emphasis on the start of hepatocytic uptake of gadoxetate disodium. Materials and methods Twenty-one patients (12 female, 9 male) without chronic liver disease underwent 1.5-T contrast-enhanced MRI twice, once with an extracellular contrast agent (gadobutrol) and once with a hepatospecific agent (gadoxetate disodium), using a T1-weighted keyhole sequence. Fifteen whole-liver datasets were acquired up to 5 min for both contrast agents and two additional datasets, up to 20 min, for gadoxetate. Signal intensities (SI) of the parenchyma, aorta and portal vein were measured and analysed relative to pre-contrast parenchymal SI. Results After gadoxetate, in 29 % of the patients the parenchymal SI decreased by ≥5 % after the initial vascular-phase-induced peak, while in the other 71 % the parenchymal SI remained stable or gradually increased until up to 20 min after the initial peak. The hepatocytic gadoxetate uptake started at a mean of 37.8 s (SD 14.7 s) and not later than 76 s after left ventricle enhancement. Conclusion Parenchymal enhancement due to hepatocytic uptake of gadoxetate can start as early as in the late arterial phase. This may confound the assessment of lesion appearance as compared to extracellular contrast such as gadobutrol. Key Points • Gadoxetate-enhanced liver MRI results in early enhancement of normal parenchyma in patients • The start of the hepatobiliary phase coincides with the late arterial phase • This may confound the assessment of lesion appearance compared to extracellular contrast • Different parenchymal enhancement patterns after gadoxetate were found for normal parenchyma