Cholangiocarcinoma MRI
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1];Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Suveenkrishna Pothuru, M.B,B.S. [2]
Overview
MRI
- MRI of cholangiocarcinoma may be used to:
- Determine the extent and stage of extrahepatic bile duct cancer.
- Observe if the cancer has spread to nearby organs or structures.
- On MRI, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma is either isointense or hypointense relative to the normal liver on T1w MR images but may range from mildly to markedly hyperintense on T2w images.
- The signal intensity of the tumor is variable and depends on the amount of mucinous material, fibrous tissue, hemorrhage, and necrosis within the lesion.
- On dynamic study after injection of Gd-BOPTA or Gd-EOB-DTPA, minimal or moderate incomplete enhancement is seen at the periphery on early images, whereas progressive central contrast enhancement is seen on later images.
- Generally, on delayed phase images lesions show peripheral hypointensity and central iso- or hyperintensity due to central pooling of contrast medium within central desmoplastic reaction.
- Satellite nodules are seen in about 10-20% of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma cases and are chiefly responsible for the poor prognosis of this tumor.