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MR elastography of the liver at 3.0 T in diagnosing liver fibrosis grades; preliminary clinical experience

  • Hepatobiliary-Pancreas
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Abstract

Objectives

To clarify the usefulness of 3.0-T MR elastography (MRE) in diagnosing the histological grades of liver fibrosis using preliminary clinical data.

Materials and methods

Between November 2012 and March 2014, MRE was applied to all patients who underwent liver MR study at a 3.0-T clinical unit. Among them, those who had pathological evaluation of liver tissue within 3 months from MR examinations were retrospectively recruited, and the liver stiffness measured by MRE was correlated with histological results. Institutional review board approved this study, waiving informed consent.

Results

There were 70 patients who met the inclusion criteria. Liver stiffness showed significant correlation with the pathological grades of liver fibrosis (rho = 0.89, p < 0.0001, Spearman’s rank correlation). Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve were 0.93, 0.95, 0.99 and 0.95 for fibrosis score greater than or equal to F1, F2, F3 and F4, with cut-off values of 3.13, 3.85, 4.28 and 5.38 kPa, respectively. Multivariate analysis suggested that grades of necroinflammation also affected liver stiffness, but to a significantly lesser degree as compared to fibrosis.

Conclusions

3.0-T clinical MRE was suggested to be sufficiently useful in assessing the grades of liver fibrosis.

Key Points

• MR elastography may help clinicians assess patients with chronic liver diseases

• Usefulness of 3.0-T MR elastography has rarely been reported

• Measured liver stiffness correlated well with the histological grades of liver fibrosis

• Measured liver stiffness was also affected by necroinflammation, but to a lesser degree

• 3.0-T MRE could be a non-invasive alternative to liver biopsy

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Acknowledgements

The scientific guarantor of this publication is Kengo Yoshimitsu. The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article. The authors state that this work has not received any funding. No complex statistical methods were necessary for this paper. Institutional review board approval was obtained. Written informed consent was waived by the institutional review board. None of the subjects or cohorts have been previously reported. Methodology: retrospective, cross-sectional study, performed at one institution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Fukuoka University, 7-45-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka, 801-1011, Japan

    Kengo Yoshimitsu, Toshimichi Mitsufuji, Yoshinobu Shinagawa, Ritsuko Fujimitsu, Ayako Morita, Hiroshi Urakawa & Koichi Takano

  2. Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, 7-45-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka, 801-1011, Japan

    Hiroyuki Hayashi

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  1. Kengo Yoshimitsu
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  2. Toshimichi Mitsufuji
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  3. Yoshinobu Shinagawa
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  4. Ritsuko Fujimitsu
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Correspondence to Kengo Yoshimitsu.

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Yoshimitsu, K., Mitsufuji, T., Shinagawa, Y. et al. MR elastography of the liver at 3.0 T in diagnosing liver fibrosis grades; preliminary clinical experience. Eur Radiol 26, 656–663 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-015-3863-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-015-3863-4

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