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Review
. 2013 Sep 23;13(3):350-9.
doi: 10.1102/1470-7330.2013.9018.

Use of contrast agents in oncological imaging: magnetic resonance imaging

Giovanni Morana  1 , Christian Cugini, Giuliano Scatto, Riccardo Zanato, Michele Fusaro, Alberto Dorigo
Affiliations
Review

Use of contrast agents in oncological imaging: magnetic resonance imaging

Giovanni Morana et al. Cancer Imaging. .

Abstract

Magnetic resonance plays a leading role in the management of oncology patients, providing superior contrast resolution and greater sensitivity compared with other techniques, which enables more accurate tumor identification, characterization and staging. Contrast agents are widely used in clinical magnetic resonance imaging; approximately 40-50% of clinical scans are contrast enhanced. Most contrast agents are based on the paramagnetic gadolinium ion Gd3+, which is chelated to avoid the toxic effects of free gadolinium. Multiple factors such as molecule structure, molecule concentration, dose, field strength and temperature determine the longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates (R1 and R2, respectively) and thus the T1- and T2-relaxivities of these chelates. These T1- and T2-relaxivities, together with their pharmacokinetic properties (i.e. distribution and concentration in the area of interest), determine the radiologic efficacy of the gadolinium-based contrast agents.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Glioblastoma, same patient after 0.1 mmol/kg of Magnevist (a) and Multihance (b). The enhancement of the lesion is higher after Multihance, with a better delineation of the borders.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Lung metastases, same patient after 0.1 mmol/kg of Magnevist (a) and Multihance (b). The enhancement of the lesion is higher after Multihance, with a better delineation of the borders.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Breast carcinoma, same patient after 0.1 mmol/kg of Magnevist (a) and Multihance (b). The enhancement of the lesion is higher after Multihance, with a better delineation of the borders as well as of spiculated margins.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Small hypervascular liver lesion in a 50-year-old man. MultiHance. The lesion is slightly hyperintense on T2 (a) and hypointense on T1 (b). During dynamic imaging, the lesion is hypervascular in the arterial phase (c), without wash-out in the portal phase (d). During the hepatobiliary phase (e, 2 hours after MultiHance injection), the lesion is hyperintense due to active uptake by the hepatocytes of the lesions: focal nodular hyperplasia.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Small hypervascular liver lesion in a 35-year-old woman with a history of taking oral contraceptives. MultiHance. The lesion is slightly hyperintense on T2 (a) and isointense on T1, both in phase (b) and out of phase (c). During dynamic imaging, the lesion is slight hypervascular in the arterial phase (d), without wash-out in the portal phase (e). During the hepatobiliary phase (f, 2 h after MultiHance injection), the lesion is hypointense due to lack of uptake by the hepatocytes of the lesions: adenoma.
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