MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING CHARACTERISATION OF FOCAL LIVER LESIONS: A PROSPECTIVE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY
Background: Focal liver lesions include a wide spectrum of benign, infective, inflammatory, and malignant pathologies. Accurate characterisation is essential for clinical decision-making, treatment planning, biopsy guidance, and follow-up. Ultrasonography is commonly used as an initial screening modality, while CT provides useful vascular information but involves ionising radiation. Magnetic resonance imaging offers superior soft tissue contrast, multiplanar capability, diffusion-weighted imaging, and dynamic contrast-enhanced assessment, making it a valuable modality for characterising focal liver lesions.
Aim To evaluate the role of magnetic resonance imaging in the characterisation of focal liver lesions and to correlate MRI diagnosis with histopathological or follow-up findings. Materials and Methods: This prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Radiodiagnosis, Maheswara Medical College& General Hospital, over a period of one year from January 2024 to December 2024. A total of 40 patients referred for MRI evaluation of focal liver lesions were included. MRI assessment included lesion number, location, size, margin, internal architecture, T1-weighted signal intensity, T2-weighted signal intensity, heavily T2-weighted appearance, diffusion restriction, and dynamic contrast enhancement pattern. MRI diagnosis was correlated with FNAC, biopsy, operative histopathology, or follow-up imaging wherever applicable. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and diagnostic performance was assessed using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy. Results: Out of 40 patients, 27 were males and 13 were females, with a male-to-female ratio of approximately 2.1:1. The age of patients ranged from 27 to 80 years, with a mean age of 53.1 ± 12.8 years. Malignant lesions constituted 23 cases (57.5%), while benign lesions constituted 17 cases (42.5%). Metastasis was the most common lesion, seen in 11 cases (27.5%), followed by hepatocellular carcinoma in 8 cases (20%), hemangioma in 5 cases (12.5%), and cholangiocarcinoma in 4 cases (10%). Multiple lesions were seen in 23 cases (57.5%), and bilobar involvement was noted in 20 cases (50%). MRI showed high diagnostic performance for major malignant lesions, with sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 90.9%, 96.6%, and 95% for metastasis; 87.5%, 96.9%, and 95% for hepatocellular carcinoma; and 100%, 100%, and 100% for cholangiocarcinoma, respectively. Conclusion: MRI is a highly useful imaging modality for the characterisation of focal liver lesions. Dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging, diffusion-weighted imaging, heavily T2-weighted sequences, and conventional T1- and T2-weighted sequences together help in differentiating benign from malignant lesions. MRI is especially valuable in indeterminate lesions detected on ultrasound or CT, in suspected malignancy, and in pre-treatment planning.