Discussion at the 2nd Forum for Liver MRI: The International
Primovist User Meeting on the use of the hepatocyte-specific
contrast agent gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-
diethylene triamine penta-
acetic acid (
Gd-EOB-DTPA) is reported. Changes to the currently recommended
Gd-EOB-DTPA imaging protocol were identified that can reduce the overall examination time. The potential benefits of 3-T MR imaging using
Gd-EOB-DTPA have yet to be fully explored. Data show that
Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI allows identification of liver lesions and provides a differential diagnosis of hepatocellular nodules in the noncirrhotic and cirrhotic liver, based on vascularity, during the dynamic arterial, portal-venous and late phases, and during the hepatocytespecific phase. Current European, American and Japanese guidelines for the diagnosis of
hepatocellular carcinoma need to take into account the recent rapid advances in liver imaging. Based on published clinical trials and the experience of the attendees in the use of
Gd-EOB-DTPA in liver imaging, a new simplified, non-invasive diagnostic algorithm was proposed that would be applicable to both Eastern and Western clinical practice in the evaluation of hepatocarcinogenesis and
hepatocellular carcinoma. Preliminary clinical experience suggests that
Gd-EOB-DTPA may also provide an innovative and cost-effective one-stop approach for staging
rectal cancer using wholebody imaging.