CARACTERIZACIóN DE LESIONES HEPáTICAS SóLIDAS CON TéCNICA DE DIFUSIóN POR RESONANCIA MAGNéTICA: REPORTE PRELIMINAR

the characterization of liver lesions in mri is based on morphology, behavior in the various sequences, and with paramagnetic contrast. objective: to evaluate the diffusion behavior of various solid lesions, measuring adc to determine its usefulness. between 2007 and 2008 we studied 51 solid focal lesions (26 patients) with mri, using conventional sequences and diffusion-weighted imaging obtained with epi mode with different values of "b". lesions corresponded to 20 hemangiomas, 12 focal nodular hyperplasia (fnh), 5 hepatocellular carcinoma (hcc), and 14 metastases. the statistical analysis allowed us to determine optimal cutoff level (adc 1.28 x 1cr3mm2/s) to differentiate benign from malignant lesions. adc values of benign lesions were significantly higher than those of the malignant ones; the hemangioma was the solid lesion with higher adc values, followed by fnh, hcc and metastases, with lower values. registered mean values were 1.68, 1.30, 1.08 and 1.03 (x10-3mrrf/s), respectively. in our view, the diffusion-weighted technique should be used to supplement conventional mri for proper characterization of solid liver lesions.