Evaluation of T1ρ as a potential MR biomarker for liver cirrhosis: Comparison of healthy control subjects and patients with liver cirrhosis

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare mean liver T-1 rho values in patients with liver cirrhosis and healthy control subjects in order to evaluate T-1 rho as a potential MR biomarker for liver cirrhosis. Materials and methods: Ten healthy control subjects (mean age 42.7 years; 6 female, 4 male) and 21 patients with clinically diagnosed liver cirrhosis (mean age 56.5 years; 5 female, 16 male) were examined at 1.5 T (Magnetom Avanto, Siemens). T-1 rho-weighted images were acquired using a 2D TurboFLASH sequence (TR/TE 3/1.31 ms, FA 8 degrees, FoV 309 x 380 mm, resolution 2 x 2 x 6 mm, acquisition time 15 s, slice thickness 6 mm) with spin-lock preparation. T-1 rho maps were calculated from five breath-hold measurements, performed with different spin-lock times (4, 8, 16, 32 and 48 ms). Mean liver T-1 rho values of healthy control subjects and patients with liver cirrhosis were calculated and compared using Student t-test. In addition, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the utility of mean liver T-1 rho values for the prediction of liver cirrhosis. Results: Mean liver T-1 rho values in patients with liver cirrhosis (57.4 +/- 7.4 ms) were significantly higher than those of healthy subjects (47.8 +/- 4.2 ms; p = 0.0007). According to the ROC analysis at a threshold value of 50.1 ms the sensitivity and specificity of mean liver T-1 rho in predicting liver cirrhosis were 90.5% and 90%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve was 0.90. Conclusion: Mean liver T-1 rho values in patients with liver cirrhosis were significantly higher than those in healthy subjects suggesting a potential role of liver T-1 rho as a MR biomarker for liver cirrhosis. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.