• M E Pijl, M N Wasser, E L van Persijn van Meerten, J W Gratama, C J van de Velde, J Hermans, A Elevelt, and J L Bloem.
• Dept of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands.
• Radiology. 1998 Nov 1; 209 (2): 427-34.

PurposeTo compare respiratory-triggered inversion-recovery (IR) gradient- and spin-echo (GRASE) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with respiratory-triggered T2-weighted fast spin-echo (SE) imaging in the diagnosis of liver metastases.Materials And MethodsIn this prospective study, two radiologists independently identified focal hepatic lesions on respiratory-triggered IR GRASE and respiratory-triggered fast SE MR images in 28 consecutive patients with 186 (135 malignant and 51 benign) proved lesions. A combination of findings at surgery, intraoperative ultrasonography (US), and histologic examination served as the standard of reference. Contrast-to-noise ratios (CNRs) were obtained from 86 lesions larger than 10 mm.ResultsThe sensitivity in the detection of liver metastases was, independent of lesion size and observer, higher for IR GRASE imaging (55%) than for fast SE imaging (44%-50%) (observer 1, P = .014; observer 2, P = .21). Confidence levels with IR GRASE imaging were higher, but not significantly so, than those with fast SE imaging (P < .098). Both observers characterized liver lesions better with IR GRASE than with fast SE imaging (observer 1, P = .04; observer 2, P = .48). The metastasis-liver CNR was significantly higher (P = .012) with IR GRASE imaging.ConclusionThe respiratory-triggered IR GRASE sequence is a fast alternative to the respiratory-triggered fast SE sequence in the evaluation of suspected liver metastases.

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