30-Second Takeaway
- Quantitative MR and CT scoring are becoming practical tools for tumor grading and severity triage.
- Arterial-phase optimization on CT and MRI changes lesion detectability and risk prediction.
- Large screening cohorts refine baseline prevalence and risk for pancreatic cysts and cardiovascular disease.
Week ending March 14, 2026
Targeted Imaging Strategies in Abdominal and Breast Radiology: Quant, Scoring, and AI-Enabled Risk Stratification
Noncontrast MR fingerprinting helps distinguish indolent from aggressive renal neoplasms
In 24 adults with suspected renal cell carcinoma, kidney MR fingerprinting provided rapid quantitative T1 and T2 mapping without contrast in a single breath-hold. T2 values were higher in indolent than aggressive tumors (86 vs 61 msec), yielding an AUC of 0.83 for differentiating tumor behavior. T1, ADC, and renal blood flow alone did not significantly differ between groups and had poor standalone discrimination. Combining MRF-derived T1 and T2 improved classification, achieving an AUC of 0.89 for indolent versus aggressive lesions in this exploratory cohort.
MERIS MRI score stratifies early recurrence risk after resection of small solitary HCC
This study developed and externally validated the MRI-based Early Recurrence Individualized Score (MERIS) in 325 patients with solitary hepatocellular carcinoma ≤5 cm after curative resection. MERIS uses four variables: elevated AST, tumor size, nonsmooth tumor margin, and peritumoral hepatobiliary phase hypointensity, each independently associated with early recurrence. The score achieved a c-index of 0.75 in both training and external test cohorts for prediction of 2-year recurrence. A cutoff of 5 points separated high- from low-risk groups with substantially lower 2-year recurrence-free probabilities in the high-risk group in both cohorts.
Pancreatic cysts on screening MRI are common, usually <1 cm, and strongly age related
Among 21,651 asymptomatic adults undergoing whole-body screening MRI, 7.0% had an incidental pancreatic cystic lesion; age- and sex-standardized prevalence was 6.3%. Prevalence rose with age, from 2.0% in those 39 years or younger to 20.8% in those 80 years or older. Most cysts were small: 96% were <2 cm and nearly 80% were <1 cm, while cysts ≥3 cm were rare (0.08% of all scans). Independent associations included age ≥65 years, female sex, prior pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer, family history of pancreatic cancer, alcohol use, and some ethnic backgrounds.
References
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Additional Reads
Optional additional studies from this edition.