Abstract：Objective: To study the value of MR diffusion weighted imaging with background suppression(DWIBS) in the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of focal hepatic lesions. Materials and Methods: Eighty-nine focal hepatic lesions of 60 patients were brought into study, including 28 hepatic metastases, 32 hepatic cellular carcinomas(HCC), 8 hemangiomas, 17 hepatic cysts, 2 hepatic abscesses, 1 focal nodular hyperplasia and 1 biliary adenocarcinoma. Values of apparent diffusion coefficients(ADCs) were calculated and compared. To find remote lesions, large-scale DWIBS with 3D-MIP reconstruction was performed on several patients. Results: ADC values of benign lesions were higher than those of malignant ones(P<0.05) and 1.6×10-3mm2/s can be set as the criteria for benign lesions versus malignancy with both sensitivity and specificity higher than 90%. ADC decreased in HCC and metastasis, while that of hemangioma and hepatic cyst increased in turn. The ADClesion/ADCliver ratio can be used to differentiate HCC, metastasis and hemangioma(P<0.05). Remote lesions were found on some patients by large-scale scanning, which can confirm the diagnoses of metastasis. Conclusion: MR DWIBS may be a useful tool for diagnosis and differential diagnosis of focal hepatic lesions.
2006, Vol. 17 
