Evaluation of super paramagnetic iron oxide-enhanced diffusion-weighted PROPELLER T2-fast spin echo magnetic resonance imaging - Preliminary experience

Objective: To evaluate the usefulness of super paramagnetic iron oxide-enhanced, diffusion-weighted, periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (SPIO DWI PROPELLER) T2-fast spin echo (FSE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for the detection of hepatic metastases. Methods: Fourteen patients were examined with SPIO-enhanced T2-FSE (SPIO FSE) imaging and SPIO DWI PROPELLER T2-FSE imaging. The b-value of the diffusion-sensitizing gradient was 10 s/mm(2) so as to Suppress the signal of the hepatic vessels. Hepatic resections were performed on all patients, and the number of lesions on MRI was compared between the 2 pulse sequences with references from pathologic reports. Results: Nearly all metastases I cm or larger, totalling 38 metastases, were detected with both pulse sequences. Among the 30 metastases less than I cm, more lesions were detected oil SPIO DWI PROPELLER T2-FSE imaging than on SPIO FSE imaging (16 for SPIO FSE imaging and 24 for DWI PROPELLER T2-FSE imaging; P < 0.05, McNemar test). Conclusion: Super paramagnetic iron oxide-enhanced DWI PROPELLER T2-FSE is useful for detecting small hepatic metastases.