Evaluation of T1ρ as a potential MR biomarker for liver cirrhosis: Comparison of healthy control subjects and patients with liver cirrhosis

• Published in: European journal of radiology Vol. 83; no. 6; pp. 900 - 904
• Main Authors: Rauscher, Isabel, Eiber, Matthias, Ganter, Carl, Martirosian, Petros, Safi, Wajima, Umgelter, Andreas, Rummeny, Ernst J., Holzapfel, Konstantin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01.06.2014
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Algorithms; Biomarkers; Female; Humans; Image Enhancement - methods; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted - methods; Liver; Liver cirrhosis; Liver Cirrhosis - diagnosis; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Middle Aged; MRI; Observer Variation; Quantification; Radiology; Reference Values; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; T1rho; T1rho; Quantification; MRI; Liver cirrhosis; Liver
• ISSN: 0720-048X; 1872-7727; 1872-7727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2014.02.017

The purpose of this study was to compare mean liver T1ρ values in patients with liver cirrhosis and healthy control subjects in order to evaluate T1ρ 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 1.5T (Magnetom Avanto, Siemens). T1ρ-weighted images were acquired using a 2D TurboFLASH sequence (TR/TE 3/1.31ms, FA 8°, FoV 309×380mm, resolution 2×2×6mm, acquisition time 15s, slice thickness 6mm) with spin-lock preparation. T1ρ maps were calculated from five breath-hold measurements, performed with different spin-lock times (4, 8, 16, 32 and 48ms). Mean liver T1ρ 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 T1ρ values for the prediction of liver cirrhosis. Mean liver T1ρ values in patients with liver cirrhosis (57.4±7.4ms) were significantly higher than those of healthy subjects (47.8±4.2ms; p=0.0007). According to the ROC analysis at a threshold value of 50.1ms the sensitivity and specificity of mean liver T1ρ in predicting liver cirrhosis were 90.5% and 90%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 0.90. Mean liver T1ρ values in patients with liver cirrhosis were significantly higher than those in healthy subjects suggesting a potential role of liver T1ρ as a MR biomarker for liver cirrhosis.