Contrast enhancement with GD-EOB-DTPA in MR imaging of hepatocellular carcinoma in mice: A comparison with superparamagnetic iron oxide

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of the new liver‐specific magnetic resonance contrast agent gadolinium‐ethoxybenzyl‐diethylenetriamine penta‐acetic acid (Gd‐EOB‐DTPA) to detect hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Seventeen mice with 66 chemically induced HCCs underwent magnetic resonance imaging with both Gd‐EOB‐DTPA (30 μmol/kg) and superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO; 10 μmol/kg). After enhancement, lesion‐to‐liver contrast‐to‐noise ratios (CNRs) of 47 detected HCCs increased negatively from 3.7 ± 10.7 (mean ± SD) to –55.1 ± 25.8 with Gd‐EOB‐DTPA (P < .001) and increased positively from 10.4 ± 10.4 to 26.1 ± 16.3 with SPIO (P < .001). The improvement of CNR after administration of SPIO was less in smaller lesions (< 4 mm), whereas that after administration of Gd‐EOB‐DTPA was independent of lesion size. However, Gd‐EOB‐DTPA positively enhanced four HCCs (8.5%), both highly differentiated (grade 1) and moderately differentiated (grade 2). Gd‐EOB‐DTPA allows the conspicuous detection of small HCCs; however, moderately differentiated HCCs occasionally may be positively enhanced.