Imaging Liver Metastases with a New Oral Manganese-Based Contrast Agent

Elizaveta Chabanova*, Vibeke Logager, Jakob M. Moller, Hellen Dekker, Jelle Barentsz, Henrik S. Thomsen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Rationale and Objectives: The purpose of the study was a preliminary evaluation of a new oral, manganese-based, liver-specific contrast medium (CMC-001; CMC Contrast AB, Malmoe, Sweden) for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with liver metastases. Materials and Methods: The study included 10 consecutive patients with known liver metastases. Patients underwent abdominal MRI as a supplement to routine diagnostics. Patients fasted for at least 10 hours before ingesting CMC-001 (1.6 g manganese chloride tetrahydrate, 1 g alanine, and 1,600 IU vitamin D3 were dissolved in water). MRI took place before and 2 hours after drinking CMC-001. The 1.5-T MRI protocol included two-dimensional T1w sequences to visualize metastases. T2w and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) sequences were used to identify cysts and blood vessels correspondingly. Results: The intake of CMC-001 caused an increase in the signal intensity of the "healthy" liver tissue, making the internal structure of the liver significantly better visualized. Compared with our routine examinations, MRI showed more metastases in four patients and allowed determining a more precise outline of metastases. Conclusion: CMC-001 improves imaging of liver metastases in comparison with computed tomography and with MRI without CMC-001.

Original languageEnglish
JournalAcademic Radiology
Volume13
Issue number7
Pages (from-to)827-832
Number of pages6
ISSN1076-6332
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jul 2006

Keywords

  • liver metastases
  • liver-specific contrast agent
  • manganese-based contrast agent
  • MRI

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