Impaired hepatic Gd-EOB-DTPA enhancement after radioembolisation of liver malignancies

Introduction To evaluate the uptake of the liver‐specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd‐EOB‐DTPA) by functional liver parenchyma after radioembolisation (RE) of hepatic malignancies. Methods Uptake of Gd‐EOB‐DTPA prior to RE versus 60+/−24d and 126+/−32d after RE was compared in a group of 33 patients with primary or secondary hepatic malignancies. In patients who underwent single‐lobe treatment, left and right lobes were compared 59+/−24 days after RE. Gd‐EOB‐DTPA uptake was determined as follows: ratio of mean signal intensity in liver parenchyma to muscle in Gd‐EOB‐DTPA‐enhanced T1‐weighted MRI was subtracted from ratio of mean intensity in liver parenchyma to muscle in unenhanced T1‐weighted MRI. Results Gd‐EOB‐DTPA uptake in liver parenchyma was 0.845+/−0.29 before RE, 0.615+/−0.38 (P = 0.0022) at day 60+/−24, and 0.739+/−0.30 at day 126+/−32 after RE. In cases of single‐lobe treatment, Gd‐EOB‐DTPA uptake was 0.581+/−0.256 for treated and 0.828+/−0.32 (P = 0.0164) for untreated hepatic lobes. Conclusions Uptake of Gd‐EOB‐DTPA by liver parenchyma is impaired after RE, indicating dysfunction of the local hepatic system. These findings suggest that Gd‐EOB‐DTPA‐enhanced MRI has the potential to be used for monitoring liver damage after RE.