Abstract:

Objective To study the value of 4-dimensional dynamic contrast-enhanced（T4D-DCE） MRI for evaluating microvessel density in primary liver cancer. Methods T4D-DCE MRI was used to examine 51 patients. The following perfusion parameters were compared between lesion tissue and normal liver tissue as a reference：transfer constant，Ktrans；volume of extravascular extracellular space per unit volume of tissue，Ve；and the rate constant，Kep. The ratios of parameter values between lesion and reference tissue were calculated，and compared with pathology results. Results The perfusion parameters were showed no correlation with pathological grades. Lesion Ktrans correlated positively with microvessel density （r=0.533，P＜0.001），as did the Ktrans ratio（r=0.791，P＜0.001） and the Kep ratio（r=0.717，P＜0.001）. Conclusion T4D-DCE MRI can measure blood perfusion in primary liver cancer and may be a useful tool for diagnosis and assessment of microcirculation.

Key words: Liver neoplasms, 4-dimensional dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI, Microcirculation, Perfusion parameters