[Diagnostic value of hepatobiliary phase imaging with GD-EOB-DTPA for hepatocellular carcinomas in cirrhosis].

Objective: To assess the diagnostic value of hepatobiliary phase imaging with GD-EOB-DTPA for hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) in cirrhosis.

Methods: A total of 43 cirrhotic patients with 45 HCC lesions underwent the examinations of T2WI, DWI, T1WI in-phase and opposed-phase and dynamic contrast enhancement and hepatobiliary phase. Two separate analyses of imaging set with and without hepatobiliary phase images were performed. The confidence scores for HCC diagnosis, consistency, area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and sensitivity and positive predictive values of two observers were compared.

Results: After adding hepatobiliary phase, there was a significant increase of confidence scores in diagnosing HCC by both observers (P < 0.05) and the consistency of two observers also increased. The area under the ROC curve improved by both observers, but no significant differences were detected (P > 0.05). The sensitivity increased significantly (P < 0.05) and no significant differences were observed for the positive predictive values by both observers (P > 0.05).

Conclusion: Hepatobiliary phase imaging may improve the diagnostic confidence and sensitivity of GD-EOB-DTPA for HCC in cirrhosis.