Diagnostic accuracy of portal-phase CT and MRI with mangafodipir trisodium in detecting liver metastases from colorectal carcinoma

AIM: To compare the diagnostic accuracy of single section spiral computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with tissue-specific contrast agent mangafodipir trisodium (MnDPDP) in the detection of colorectal liver metastases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred and twenty-five consecutive patients undergoing surgery for primary and/or metastatic disease were evaluated using CT (5 mm collimation and reconstruction interval, pitch 2), two-dimensional fast spoiled gradient echo (2D FSPGR) T1 and single shot fast-spin echo (SSFSE) T2 weighted breath-hold MRI sequences, performed before and after intravenous administration of MnDPDP. The reference standards were intraoperative ultrasound and histology. RESULTS: The per-patient accuracy of CT was 72.8 versus 78.4% for unenhanced MRI (p = 0.071) and 82.4% for MnDPDP-enhanced MRI (p = 0.005). MnDPDP-enhanced MRI appeared to be more accurate than unenhanced MRI but this was not significant (p = 0.059). The sensitivity of CT was 48.4% versus 58.1% for unenhanced MRI (p = 0.083) and 66.1% for MnDPDP-enhanced MRI (p = 0.004). The difference in specificity between procedures was not significant. The per-lesion sensitivity was 71.7, 74.9 and 82.7% for CT, unenhanced MRI, and MnDPDP-enhanced MRI, respectively; the positive predictive value of the procedures was respectively 84.0, 96.0 and 95.8%. MnDPDP-enhanced MRI provided a high level diagnostic confidence in 92.5% of the cases versus 82.5% for both unenhanced MRI and CT. The kappa value for inter-observer variability was >0.75 for all procedures. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic accuracy and sensitivity of MnDPDP-enhanced MRI is significantly higher than single section spiral CT in the detection of colorectal cancer liver metastases; no significant difference in diagnostic accuracy was observed between unenhanced MRI and MnDPDP-enhanced MRI.