Andrew Dean Hardie1
1Radiology, Medical University of South
Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States
MRI
is accurate for identifying hepatocellular carcinoma however gadolinium
chelates are contraindicated in patients with severe renal dysfunction due to
the risk of Nephrogenic Systemic Fibrosis. There is a need to develop
clinically usefull non-contrast MRI techniques to image these patients.
Diffusion-weighted imaging and T2* weighted imaging offer the ability to
identify tumors in cirrhotic patients with an accuracy similar to gadolinium
MRI.