Imaging of hepatic incidentalomas with CT and MRI

Athina C. Tsili, Effrosyni Styliara, Maria I Argyropoulou

Abstract


The increasing and widespread use of imaging techniques has led to an increase in the detection of incidental focal liver lesions. Most hepatic incidentalomas are benign lesions which do not require further investigation or intervention; however, few of them may prove malignant. Although conventional ultrasonography is usually the first imaging method, it lacks the diagnostic performance of multidetector computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the detection and characterisation of hepatic incidentalomas. In this review, the role of CT and MRI in the investigation of hepatic incidentalomas will be presented. The guidelines of the American College of Radiology regarding the management of focal liver lesions incidentally detected on CT will be discussed. Finally, the typical CT and MRI features of common hepatic incidentalomas, including both benign and malignant, will be reviewed.


Keywords


Liver; Hepatic neoplasms; MR imaging; Multidetector computed tomography; Incidentalomas

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.36162/hjr.v4i2.260

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