Consensus report of the 2nd International Forum for Liver MRI.

Discussion at the 2nd Forum for Liver MRI: The International Primovist User Meeting on the use of the hepatocyte-specific contrast agent gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) is reported. Changes to the currently recommended Gd-EOB-DTPA imaging protocol were identified that can reduce the overall examination time. The potential benefits of 3-T MR imaging using Gd-EOB-DTPA have yet to be fully explored. Data show that Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI allows identification of liver lesions and provides a differential diagnosis of hepatocellular nodules in the noncirrhotic and cirrhotic liver, based on vascularity, during the dynamic arterial, portal-venous and late phases, and during the hepatocytespecific phase. Current European, American and Japanese guidelines for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma need to take into account the recent rapid advances in liver imaging. Based on published clinical trials and the experience of the attendees in the use of Gd-EOB-DTPA in liver imaging, a new simplified, non-invasive diagnostic algorithm was proposed that would be applicable to both Eastern and Western clinical practice in the evaluation of hepatocarcinogenesis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Preliminary clinical experience suggests that Gd-EOB-DTPA may also provide an innovative and cost-effective one-stop approach for staging rectal cancer using wholebody imaging.