Diagnostic efficacy of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI in the detection of hepatocellular carcinomas: Comparison with gadopentetate dimeglumine

This study compared the efficacy of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI and gadopentetate dimeglumine-enhanced MRI in the detection of small hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Both MRI techniques were performed on 43 patients with a total of 59 HCCs (size range, 0.5-2.0 cm), with a mean interval between the two MRI studies of 3 days (range, 2-7 days). Two observers reviewed both data sets in consensus. Diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity were evaluated using the alternative-free response receiver operator characteristic (ROC) method. The gadoxetic acid set showed a trend toward increased area under the ROC curve (Az value=0.958) compared with the gadopentetate dimeglumine set (Az value=0.927), but the difference was not significant (p=0.362). The sensitivity of the gadoxetic acid set (n=51, 86.4%) was significantly higher than that of the gadopentetate dimeglumine set (n=38, 64.4%) (p=0.0001). Gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI is a more sensitive diagnostic tool for detection of HCC than gadopentetate dimeglumine-enhanced MRI.