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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 May 14.
Published in final edited form as: Radiology. 2018 Feb 1;287(2):543–553. doi: 10.1148/radiol.2018171557

Table 1.

MRI Features: Definition of Imaging Features and Respective Categories

Features Definition Categories
T2W Signal Intensity Lesion intensity in comparison to normal renal cortex on non-fat-suppressed T2W images

  1. Low

  2. Isointense

  3. High
T2W Signal Heterogeneity Lesion texture as observed on fat-suppressed T2W images

  1. Homogeneous

  2. Minimally heterogeneous

  3. Heterogeneous
Intravoxel Fat Signal dropout on OP images compared to IP images

  1. Absent

  2. Present
Bulk Fat High signal intensity on non-fat-suppressed T1- or T2W images, with signal dropout on fat-suppressed images; “India ink” artifact at the interface between the hyperintense focus and adjacent renal parenchyma

  1. Absent

  2. Present
Magnetic Susceptibility Decreased signal intensity on T1W IP images compared to the shorter echo time OP images

  1. Absent

  2. Present
Central Scar High signal intensity on T2W images at the lesion core, exhibiting no enhancement after intravenous contrast administration and surrounded by enhancing solid tumor

  1. Absent

  2. Present
Hemorrhage High signal intensity on pre-contrast, fat-saturated T1W images

  1. Absent

  2. Present
Segmental Enhancement Inversion Areas within the renal mass with intense enhancement during the corticomedullary phase, later washing out, and areas with low level enhancement during the corticomedullary phase exhibiting intense enhancement on delayed post contrast acquisitions (20, 21)

  1. Absent

  2. Present
Contrast Enhancement During the corticomedullary phase, which was rated as low, moderate, or high if the enhancing portions of the renal mass exhibited approximately ≤30%, 50%, or 100%, enhancement, respectively, compared to renal cortex enhancement

  1. Low

  2. Moderate

  3. High
Dynamic Characteristics Mass enhancement during the late nephrographic phase, as follows: progressive (at least 10% more than corticomedullary phase), plateau (approximately 10% of the corticomedullary phase), or washout (at least 10% less than corticomedullary phase)

  1. Progressive

  2. Plateau

  3. Washout
Enhancement Heterogeneity Lesion texture as observed on post-contrast images

  1. Homogeneous

  2. Minimally heterogeneous

  3. Heterogeneous

Note – T1W, T1-weighted; T2W, T2-weighted; IP, in-phase; OP, out-of-phase