ABSTRACT

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth most common cancer worldwide (1), developing within a cirrhotic background in up to 90% of cases. HCC has a 5-year survival rate of less than 10% as it is an aggressive and rapidly growing tumor.

Aim: To compare the positive predictive value of DCEMRI (dynamic contrast enhanced MRI) with DCECT (dynamic contrast enhanced CT-Scan) in the diagnosis of Hepatocellular carcinoma.

 Methods: This comparative study was carried out on one hundred patients (Mean age, 52 years; age range, 36–80 years) who fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Fifty patients were included in each groups (CT, MRI).  CT/ MRI findings of intense arterial uptake followed by a ‘‘washout’’ of contrast in the venous-delayed phases was taken as suspicion of HCC. Histopathology was taken as a gold standard for diagnosis.

Results:      Out of 100 patients, 61 patients (61%) were males while 39 patients (39%) were females. The age of the patients ranged from minimum age of 36 years to maximum age of 80 years with a mean age of 52 years. The positive predictive value of dynamic contrast enhanced MRI was 94%, while that of dynamic contrast enhanced CT-Scan was 86%.

Conclusion: Dynamic contrast enhanced MRI (DCEMRI) is a superior modality for diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma as compared with dynamic contrast-enhanced CT-scan (DCECT).