• T J Vogl, S Kümmel, R Hammerstingl, M Schellenbeck, G Schumacher, T Balzer, W Schwarz, P K Müller, W O Bechstein, M G Mack, O Söllner, and R Felix.
• Department of Radiology, Humboldt-University of Berlin, Rudolf Virchow Hospital, Germany.
• Radiology. 1996 Jul 1; 200 (1): 59-67.

PurposeTo compare the usefulness of gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) and gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) in the diagnosis of focal liver lesions.Materials And MethodsThirty-one patients with focal liver lesions underwent T2- and T1-weighted spin-echo magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and fast low-angle shot two-dimensional MR imaging before, during, and after intravenous administration of three different doses of Gd-EOB-DTPA (12.5, 25, and 50 mumol per kilogram body weight). Gd-DTPA-enhanced imaging (dose, 0.1 mmol per kilogram body weight) was performed in the same patients within 1 week of Gd-EOB-DTPA imaging.ResultsDuring the perfusion phase (the 3 minutes after injection of contrast material), the dynamic enhancement characteristics seen after injection of 25 and 50 mumol of Gd-EOB-DTPA were similar to those seen with Gd-DTPA. At the lowest dose of Gd-EOB-DTPA (12.5 mumol), the dynamic enhancement characteristics were not comparable to those seen with Gd-DTPA. During the hepatobiliary phase (1.5 minutes to 4 hours after injection), Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced images yielded a dose-independent, statistically significant improvement in the detection rate of additional metastases, hepatocellular carcinomas, and hemangiomas compared with unenhanced and Gd-DTPA-enhanced images (P < .05).ConclusionGd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging enables improved detection of hepatic lesions over Gd-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging while providing comparable differential diagnostic information.

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