ABSTRACT
Objective The purpose of this study was to compare gadolinium-enhanced multiphase dynamic MR imaging and multirow-detector helical CT (MDCT) multiphase scanning for detection of small hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods Multirow-detector helical CT multiphase scanning and MRI with SE sequence combined with FMPSPGR sequence were performed in 37 patients with 43 small HCCs. ROC curves were established to analyze the results for each modality. Results There was no statistical difference between MDCT and MRI in the areas below the receive operating characteristic curve (Az). The detection of small HCC on MDCT showed lesser false-positive lesions than that on MRI, however the difference was not statistically different. Sensitivity of detecting small HCC on MDCT with multiphase scanning was higher than that on dynamic MRI. The sensitivity of detection for small HCC (≤1 cm) was 90.0%, 95.0% on MDCT and 70.0%, 85.0% on MRI, respectively. The positive predictive values for small HCC were higher on dynamic MDCT (97.5%, 97.6%) than on dynamic MRI (90.7%, 94.7%), respectively. Conclusion For early detection of small HCC, multiphase hepatic CT scan using MDCT is highly recommended for the patients with chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis.