A lesson in humility: the added values of PET-MRI over PET-CT in detecting malignant hepatic lesions

• Published in: European journal of nuclear medicine and molecular imaging 2023-04, Vol.50 (5), p.1423-1433
• Main Authors: Cohen, Dan, Kesler, Mikhail, Muchnik Kurash, Marina, Even-Sapir, Einat, Levine, Charles
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cardiology; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; Humans; Imaging; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Nuclear Medicine; Oncology; Oncology – General; Original Article; Orthopedics; Positron Emission Tomography Computed Tomography; Positron-Emission Tomography - methods; Prospective Studies; Radiology; Radiopharmaceuticals
• ISSN: 1619-7070; 1619-7089
• DOI: 10.1007/s00259-022-06099-8

Purpose The recent introduction of integrated PET-MRI systems into practice seems promising in oncologic imaging, and efforts are made to specify their added values. The current study evaluates the added values of PET-MRI over PET-CT in detecting active malignant hepatic lesions. Methods As part of an ongoing prospective study in our institution that assesses the added values of PET-MRI, subjects undergo PET-CT and subsequent PET-MRI after single radiotracer injection. The current study included 97 pairs of whole-body PET-CT and liver PET-MRI scans, of 61 patients (19/61 had ≥ 2 paired scans), all performed with [ 18 F]FDG and interpreted as showing active malignant hepatic involvement. Primary malignancies were of colorectal/biliary/pancreatic/breast/other origins in 19/9/9/7/17 patients. Monitoring response to therapy was the indication in 86/97 cases. When PET-MRI detected additional malignant lesions over PET-CT, lesions size, their characteristics on PET-MRI, and the influence on the final report were recorded. Results In 37/97 (38.1%) cases, a total of 78 malignant lesions were identified on PET-MRI but not on PET-CT: 19 lesions (11 cases) were identified on PET of PET-MRI but not on PET of PET-CT; 37 lesions (14 cases) were small (≤ 0.8 cm) and identified on MRI only; 22 lesions (12 cases) were > 0.8 cm, had low/no [ 18 F]FDG uptake, but were categorized as viable based on MRI. These 78 lesions caused major effect on final reports in 11/97 (11.3%) cases, changing reported response assessment category (10/86 cases) or defining malignant hepatic disease on staging/restaging scans (1/11 cases). Conclusion PET-MRI offers several advantages over PET-CT in assessing the extent and response to therapy of malignant hepatic involvement. Additional malignant lesions detected on PET-MRI are attributed to superior PET performance (compared with PET of PET-CT), greater spatial resolution provided by MRI, and improved multi-parametric viability assessment. In around one-tenth of cases, findings identified on PET-MRI but not on PET-CT significantly change the final report’s conclusion.