Abstract
Purpose
To determine the diagnostic accuracy of two fast breath‐hold magnetic resonance (MR) imaging sequences, half‐Fourier acquired single turbo spin‐echo (HASTE) and true fast imaging with steady state precession (TrueFISP), for the detection and characterization of focal liver lesions
Materials and Methods
A total of 186 patients with suspected focal liver lesions were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent the same standardized study protocol including HASTE and TrueFISP. A consensus reading based on all available image data served as a standard of reference for classifying lesions into cysts, hemangiomas, focal nodular hyperplasia, or malignant/other lesions. All malignant lesions, as well as hepatic adenomas and abscesses, were histologically verified. Each separated by an eight‐week interval, HASTE and TrueFISP images were retrospectively reviewed in random order for the detection and characterization of focal hepatic lesions. Finally, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was calculated.
Results
HASTE images had an overall sensitivity of 0.86 and a specificity of 0.91, whereas TrueFISP showed an overall sensitivity and specificity of 0.79 and 0.83, respectively (p>0.1).
Conclusion
Neither HASTE nor TrueFISP alone are sufficient for the detection and characterization of hepatic lesions. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2003;17:190–196. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.