SPIO-induced susceptibility effects on quantitative liver MRI: cross-method assessment of R2*, PDFF, T1 mapping, and MRE
Abstract
Objectives: To compare hepatic and splenic transverse relaxivity (R2*) derived from two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) multi-echo gradient-echo (ME-GRE) acquisitions before and after superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) administration and to evaluate the effects of SPIO on proton density fat fraction (PDFF), MR spectroscopy (MRS)-derived PDFF, native T1 mapping, and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE)-derived liver stiffness. Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, 48 adults underwent liver MRI at 3 T before and after SPIO administration. Hepatic and splenic R2* and PDFF were obtained from 2D and 3D ME-GRE acquisitions processed using MRQuantif and LiverLab. MRS-derived PDFF, native variable flip angle T1 mapping, and MRE-derived liver stiffness were assessed before and after SPIO administration. Agreement between methods was evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and Bland-Altman analysis. Predictors of SPIO-induced changes were assessed using multivariable linear regression. Results: SPIO administration resulted in a marked increase in hepatic R2* (approximately 3.5-fold), exceeding the increase observed in the spleen (approximately 2-fold), consistent with predominant hepatic uptake. Correlation between LiverLab and MRQuantif R2* measurements remained strong; however, inter-method agreement deteriorated at higher R2* values after SPIO administration. ME-GRE-based PDFF measurements remained stable with preserved inter-method agreement. In contrast, MRS-derived PDFF demonstrated reduced reliability after SPIO administration, with apparent increases in fat fraction and weakened correlation with ME-GRE PDFF measurements. Native hepatic T1 values decreased uniformly by approximately 500 ms following SPIO administration. MRE-derived liver stiffness showed no significant change after SPIO administration. Conclusion: Using SPIO as a controlled in vivo susceptibility model, this study provides an integrated evaluation of the susceptibility dependence of commonly used quantitative liver MRI biomarkers. SPIO-induced susceptibility effects substantially increase hepatic R2*, impair the reliability of MRS-based fat quantification, and markedly shorten native variable flip angle T1 measurements, while preserving the relative stability of ME-GRE-based PDFF and MRE-derived liver stiffness. These findings improve understanding of the susceptibility-related performance of quantitative liver MRI techniques and may help inform the interpretation and standardization of iron-sensitive MRI biomarkers.
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BibTeX
@article{bassalamah2026spioinduced,
title = {{SPIO-induced susceptibility effects on quantitative liver MRI: cross-method assessment of R2*, PDFF, T1 mapping, and MRE}},
author = {Sami a Ba-Ssalamah and Sarah Poetter-Lang and Ahmet y Yitik and Tarik Abd El-Aal and Ahmed Ba-Ssalamah and Stephan Kannengiesser and Yves Gandon and Georg Langs and Nina Bastati and Ulrike Attenberger},
journal = {European Journal of Radiology},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1016/j.ejrad.2026.113116},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05753238v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - SPIO-induced susceptibility effects on quantitative liver MRI: cross-method assessment of R2*, PDFF, T1 mapping, and MRE
AU - Sami a Ba-Ssalamah
AU - Sarah Poetter-Lang
AU - Ahmet y Yitik
AU - Tarik Abd El-Aal
AU - Ahmed Ba-Ssalamah
AU - Stephan Kannengiesser
AU - Yves Gandon
AU - Georg Langs
AU - Nina Bastati
AU - Ulrike Attenberger
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/25
JO - European Journal of Radiology
DO - 10.1016/j.ejrad.2026.113116
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05753238v1
AB - Objectives: To compare hepatic and splenic transverse relaxivity (R2*) derived from two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) multi-echo gradient-echo (ME-GRE) acquisitions before and after superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) administration and to evaluate the effects of SPIO on proton density fat fraction (PDFF), MR spectroscopy (MRS)-derived PDFF, native T1 mapping, and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE)-derived liver stiffness. Materials and methods: In this retrospective study, 48 adults underwent liver MRI at 3 T before and after SPIO administration. Hepatic and splenic R2* and PDFF were obtained from 2D and 3D ME-GRE acquisitions processed using MRQuantif and LiverLab. MRS-derived PDFF, native variable flip angle T1 mapping, and MRE-derived liver stiffness were assessed before and after SPIO administration. Agreement between methods was evaluated using Pearson correlation coefficients, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and Bland-Altman analysis. Predictors of SPIO-induced changes were assessed using multivariable linear regression. Results: SPIO administration resulted in a marked increase in hepatic R2* (approximately 3.5-fold), exceeding the increase observed in the spleen (approximately 2-fold), consistent with predominant hepatic uptake. Correlation between LiverLab and MRQuantif R2* measurements remained strong; however, inter-method agreement deteriorated at higher R2* values after SPIO administration. ME-GRE-based PDFF measurements remained stable with preserved inter-method agreement. In contrast, MRS-derived PDFF demonstrated reduced reliability after SPIO administration, with apparent increases in fat fraction and weakened correlation with ME-GRE PDFF measurements. Native hepatic T1 values decreased uniformly by approximately 500 ms following SPIO administration. MRE-derived liver stiffness showed no significant change after SPIO administration. Conclusion: Using SPIO as a controlled in vivo susceptibility model, this study provides an integrated evaluation of the susceptibility dependence of commonly used quantitative liver MRI biomarkers. SPIO-induced susceptibility effects substantially increase hepatic R2*, impair the reliability of MRS-based fat quantification, and markedly shorten native variable flip angle T1 measurements, while preserving the relative stability of ME-GRE-based PDFF and MRE-derived liver stiffness. These findings improve understanding of the susceptibility-related performance of quantitative liver MRI techniques and may help inform the interpretation and standardization of iron-sensitive MRI biomarkers.
SN - 0720-048X
ER -