MRI Evaluation of Treatment Response for Local Therapies for Malignant Liver Lesions

Surgical resection remains the treatment of choice for liver malignancies, however a variety of minimally invasive therapeutic techniques have been developed since patients are not always eligible for surgical approach. The minimally invasive methods include transcatheter arterial chemoembolization, percutaneous ethanol injection, radiofrequency ablation, microwave ablation, cryotherapy and interstitial laser coagulation therapy. In the current article, the MR appearance of both successful and incomplete focal therapies, in the setting of liver malignancy, was reviewed. Although some therapies may exhibit similar MR findings post intervention, peculiar MR features can be appreciated in some procedures.