Evaluation of T1? as a potential MR biomarker for liver cirrhosis: comparison of healthy control subjects and patients with liver cirrhosis.

The purpose of this study was to compare mean liver T1? values in patients with liver cirrhosis and healthy control subjects in order to evaluate T1? as a potential MR biomarker for liver cirrhosis.Ten healthy control subjects (mean age 42.7 years; 6 female, 4 male) and 21 patients with clinically diagnosed liver cirrhosis (mean age 56.5 years; 5 female, 16 male) were examined at 1.5 T (Magnetom Avanto, Siemens). T1?-weighted images were acquired using a 2D TurboFLASH sequence (TR/TE 3/1.31 ms, FA 8°, FoV 309 × 380 mm, resolution 2 × 2 × 6 mm, acquisition time 15s, slice thickness 6mm) with spin-lock preparation. T1? maps were calculated from five breath-hold measurements, performed with different spin-lock times (4, 8, 16, 32 and 48 ms). Mean liver T1? values of healthy control subjects and patients with liver cirrhosis were calculated and compared using Student t-test. In addition, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the utility of mean liver T1? values for the prediction of liver cirrhosis.Mean liver T1? values in patients with liver cirrhosis (57.4 ± 7.4 ms) were significantly higher than those of healthy subjects (47.8 ± 4.2 ms; p=0.0007). According to the ROC analysis at a threshold value of 50.1 ms the sensitivity and specificity of mean liver T1? in predicting liver cirrhosis were 90.5% and 90%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 0.90.Mean liver T1? values in patients with liver cirrhosis were significantly higher than those in healthy subjects suggesting a potential role of liver T1? as a MR biomarker for liver cirrhosis.     «

The purpose of this study was to compare mean liver T1? values in patients with liver cirrhosis and healthy control subjects in order to evaluate T1? as a potential MR biomarker for liver cirrhosis.Ten healthy control subjects (mean age 42.7 years; 6 female, 4 male) and 21 patients with clinically diagnosed liver cirrhosis (mean age 56.5 years; 5 female, 16 male) were examined at 1.5 T (Magnetom Avanto, Siemens). T1?-weighted images were acquired using a 2D TurboFLASH sequence (TR/TE 3/1.31 ms...     »