An iodinated lipid emulsion for CT of the liver

Abstract

Purpose: The iodinated hepatocyte-specific lipid emulsion FP 736-03 for CT of the liver was tested against the conventional water-soluble contrast agent iohexol.

Material and Methods: A nude rat model of experimental multiple hepatic metastases from a human colonic cancer was used. The animals were examined 3 weeks after intraportal tumor cell injection. Native examination, and iohexol- and FP-736-03-enhanced CT were performed. The detection rate was determined on a lesion-by-lesion basis. Metastatic diameters measured on CT images were compared with corresponding macroscopic serial liver specimens.

Results: In a lesion-by-lesion analysis of 140 metastases, the detection rates for 2 viewers were 16.4% and 30.7% for native examination, 12.9% and 17.9% for iohexol-enhanced CT, and 53.6% and 72.1 % for FP-736-03-enhanced CT, respectively. The detection rates tended to increase with lesion diameter.

Conclusion: The hepatocyte-specific contrast medium FP 736-03 improved the detection rate significantly in comparison with both native and iohexol-enhanced CT.