Primary Hepatocellular Lesions: Imaging Findings on State-of-the-Art Magnetic Resonance Imaging, with Pathologic Correlation

van den Bos, Indra C.; Hussain, Shahid M.; de Man, Robert A.; Zondervan, Pieter E.; IJzermans, Jan N.M.; Krestin, Gabriel P.

doi:10.1067/j.cpradiol.2007.07.003

« Previous Next »Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology
Volume 37, Issue 3 , Pages 104-114, May 2008

Primary Hepatocellular Lesions: Imaging Findings on State-of-the-Art Magnetic Resonance Imaging, with Pathologic Correlation

Indra C. van den Bos, MD, PhD
- Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Reprint requests: Indra C. van den Bos, MD, PhD, Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 's-Gravendijkwal 230, 3015 CE Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Shahid M. Hussain, MD, PhD
- Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Radiology, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE
Robert A. de Man, MD, PhD
- Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Pieter E. Zondervan, MD
- Department of Pathology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Jan N.M. IJzermans, MD, PhD
- Department of Surgery, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
Gabriel P. Krestin, MD, PhD
- Department of Radiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Magnetic resonance imaging is routinely used for the workup of patients with focal or diffuse liver disease, including primary hepatocellular lesions, storage diseases, metastatic liver disease, and diseases of the hepatobiliary tree. The most important magnetic resonance imaging sequences used for diagnostic imaging of the liver consist of T1-weighted sequences, T2-weighted sequences, and at least the arterial and delayed phases of dynamic gadolinium-enhanced imaging. This article provides an overview of magnetic resonance imaging of primary hepatocellular lesions and will describe the following: (1) the classification and etiology of primary hepatocellular lesions, including focal nodular hyperplasia, hepatocellular adenoma, and hepatocellular carcinoma; (2) the stepwise carcinogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis on magnetic resonance imaging; and (3) the typical imaging findings of primary hepatocellular lesions on magnetic resonance imaging, with differential diagnoses.