Enhancement of liver and pancreas on late hepatic arterial phase Imaging: Quantitative comparison among multiple gadolinium-based contrast agents at 1.5 tesla MRI

Purpose To compare enhancement of the liver and pancreas quantitatively on late hepatic arterial phase images among various gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) at 1.5 Tesla (T) MRI. Materials and Methods Patients underwent consecutive MR studies with the following GBCAs: gadopentetate dimeglumine (0.1 mmol/kg) gadobenate dimeglumine (0.05 mmol/kg), gadoxetic acid, and gadobutrol group. The enhancement of liver and pancreas was evaluated quantitatively on late hepatic arterial phase. Relative pancreas-to-liver enhancement ratio was also calculated. Results Mean % enhancement of the liver and the pancreas was 21.57 and 55.40, and mean relative pancreas to liver enhancement was 2.23. Mean % enhancement of the liver for gadopentetate, gadobenate, gadoxetic, and gadobutrol were 20.4 ± 12.3, 21.7 ± 7.1, 16.2 ± 6.1, 29.1 ± 21.9. Significant difference was observed for % enhancement of liver comparing gadobutrol and gadoxetic (P = 0.048). Mean % enhancement of pancreas for gadopentetate, gadobenate, gadoxetic, and gadobutrol were 53.6 ± 12.6, 60.1 ± 13.7, 52.7 ± 10.6, 54.7 ± 19.5. No significant differences were observed for % enhancement of pancreas (P > 0.05). No significant differences were observed for relative pancreas-to-liver enhancement ratio (P > 0.05). Conclusion Our study describes % enhancement of liver and pancreas using various GBCAs. The data may provide reference material on relaxation properties of GBCAs in vivo.