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• Clinical Article •
The advantage of gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MRI in differentiating focal chronic inflammatory lesions of the liver from solitary hepatic metastases
ZHANG Mingyu  ZHU Zhi  CAI Fengcan  WU Qingde  OU Jianhong 

DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.01.008.


[Abstract] Objective To explore the diagnostic value of gadoxetic acid disodium (Gd-EOB-DTPA) enhanced MRI in differentiating of focal chronic inflammatory hepatic lesions (FCIHL) from solitary hepatic metastasis (SHM).Materials and Methods The imaging and clinical data of 23 patients with FCIHL and 36 patients with SHM pathologically confirmed in the Shunde Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from June 2019 to February 2024 were retrospectively collected. All patients underwent diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and gadoxetic acid disodium (Gd-EOB-DTPA) enhanced MRI examinations. The imaging characteristics and clinical indicators were compared between the two groups. Kappa test or intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the consistency between two observers in each image interpretation. For clinical and imaging data of the two groups that conformed to normal distribution, independent samples t-test was adopted; for other continuous data, Mann-Whitney U test was applied; and for categorical data, chi-square test was used to analyze inter-group differences. Logistic regression analysis was conducted on variables with significant inter-group differences (P < 0.05) to identify the independent risk factors for FCIHL. A nomogram was constructed, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted to obtain the area under the curve (AUC) values.Results Interobserver consistency between the two observers was excellent, with all ICC or Kappa values greater than 0.8 (all P < 0.05). The apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value and the diameter difference of lesions between T2WI and hepatobiliary phase were independent influencing factors for differentiating FCIHL from SHM, with AUC values of 0.787 (95% CI: 0.671 to 0.904) and 0.836 (95% CI: 0.737 to 0.936), respectively (both P < 0.05). The comprehensive AUC value of the nomogram is higher than that of a single indicator, reaching 0.908 (95% CI: 0.836 to 0.980).Conclusions Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI has certain value in differentiating FCIHL from SHM. Among these imaging features, the diameter difference of lesions between T2WI and hepatobiliary phase is the most valuable discriminative indicator.
[Keywords] liver；focal；chronic inflammation；liver metastasis；gadoxetic acid disodium；magnetic resonance imaging

ZHANG Mingyu1, 2   ZHU Zhi1, 2   CAI Fengcan1, 2   WU Qingde1*   OU Jianhong1  

1 Department of Medical Imaging, Shunde Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Foshan 528329, China

2 Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 511400, China

Corresponding author: WU Q D, E-mail: wuqingde1@sohu.com

Conflicts of interest   None.

Received  2025-09-08
Accepted  2025-12-25
DOI: 10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.01.008
DOI:10.12015/issn.1674-8034.2026.01.008.

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