Abstract: Objective To analyze the diagnostic significance of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for hepatic adenoma. Methods Twenty-one cases pathologically confirmed as hepatic adenoma were enrolled for comparison analysis between preoperative biopsy, MRI performance and ADC. Results Among the 21 cases, 19 and 2 cases were preoperatively diagnosed as benign liver adenomas and focal nodular hyperplasia, respectively; 2 cases were accompanied with cirrhosis; 1, 5 and 15 cases had 9, 2 and single lesions, respectively. In terms of the 34 lesions, 26 had high lipid content, while 8 had low lipid content. Additionally, there were 18 lesions with less than 3cm in diameter, 10 with 3-5cm and 6 with more than 5cm. The T1WI scan signals were low in 30 lesions and high in 4, and the T2WI scan signals were low in 11 lesions and high in 23. Gd-DTPA enhanced scan showed that the signals were significantly strengthened during the arterial phase, were low in 12 lesions and high in 22 during the portal venous phase, and were low in 12 lesions and high in 22 in the delayed phase. Moreover, diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) scan showed that the signals were low in 21 lesions and high in 13. Pseudocapsule-like enhancing lesions were observed in 14 lesions, and the other 20 ones displayed as no clear signs. The ratio of mean ADC value of 34 lesions to the value of their surrounding normal liver parenchyma was more than 1 [(1.704±0.33)×10^-3mm²/s vs. (1.357±0.214)×10^-3mm²/s]. Conclusion MRI combined with ADC value measurements could provide reliable references for the diagnosis of hepatic adenoma and improve the accuracy of clinical diagnosis.

Key words: MRI, ADC, Hepatic adenoma, Diagnostic value