Shan-Shan Yin

Evaluation of Primary Malignancies of the Liver Using Contrast-Enhanced Sonography: Correlation With Pathology

OBJECTIVE Our purpose was to investigate the correlation of contrast-enhanced sonographic patterns with the histopathology of primary malignancies of the liver. MATERIAL AND METHODS Of the 318 contrast-enhanced sonographic examinations performed between April and September 2004, 95 patients with 117 lesions confirmed by surgery or biopsy pathology were reviewed in this study. We analyzed the enhancement time and patterns according to the types and degrees of pathologic differentiation. RESULTS All 65 moderately to poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) enhanced in the arterial phase, and 96.9% (63 lesions) of them quickly washed out in the portal venous phase. All 32 well-differentiated HCCs enhanced in the arterial phase, and 50.0% (16 lesions) washed out slowly during the late phase. The washout time of the two differentiated types was significantly different (p < 0.05). Seventy-five percent of the clear cell carcinomas (12/16) enhanced in the arterial phase, 25% (4/16) did not enhance until the portal venous phase, and 31.3% (5/16) of the clear cell carcinomas washed out slowly during the late phase. The enhancement and washout times of clear cell carcinomas were significantly different than those of moderately to poorly differentiated HCCs (p < 0.05). All four intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas presented the same patterns as moderately to poorly differentiated HCCs: enhanced in the arterial phase and quickly washed out in the portal venous phase. Among the 72 lesions enhanced homogeneously, 46 lesions (63.9%) were smaller than 3 cm. Thirty-seven lesions (82.2%) of the 45 lesions that enhanced heterogeneously were larger than 3 cm (including the four cholangiocarcinomas). Larger lesions were mainly less differentiated. There were significant differences in tumor sizes in regard to cellular differentiations and types. CONCLUSION Our study showed that the enhancement manifestations of primary malignancies of the liver are related to pathologic types and grades. Contrast-enhanced sonograms may provide the histopathologic information for malignant tumors of the liver.

The Role of Contrast-Enhanced Sonography of Focal Liver Lesions Before Percutaneous Biopsy

OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to evaluate the clinical utility of performing contrast-enhanced sonography before percutaneous biopsy of focal liver lesions. SUBJECTS AND METHODS One hundred eighty-six patients with focal liver lesions detected on either sonography or contrast-enhanced CT were randomly divided into two groups: a group who underwent contrast-enhanced sonography and another who underwent unenhanced sonography. The contrast-enhanced sonography group (79 patients, 129 lesions) underwent SonoVue-enhanced sonography before biopsy, and the unenhanced sonography group (107 patients, 143 lesions) did not undergo contrast-enhanced sonography before biopsy. Conventional sonography was used in all patients to guide the biopsy procedures. The pathologic diagnosis was considered definitive and final if the biopsy result was malignant. If the initial biopsy result was benign or negative for malignancy, then the result was either confirmed or denied on the basis of contrast-enhanced CT, MRI, angiography, serum alpha-fetoprotein level, or clinical follow-up over a period of 6 months. In some patients with suspected malignancy, biopsy was repeated when considered necessary during the follow-up. The diagnostic accuracy of the initial biopsy was defined as the percentage of the total number of lesions that were correctly diagnosed at the initial biopsy. The difference in diagnostic accuracy between the two groups was analyzed to evaluate the value of performing contrast-enhanced sonography before biopsy. RESULTS Of the 129 lesions in the contrast-enhanced sonography group, 28 (21.7%) were benign and 101 (78.3%) were malignant. Of the 143 lesions in the unenhanced sonography group, 36 (25.2%) were benign and 107 (74.8%) were malignant. There was no significant difference in the distribution of malignant and benign lesions in these two groups (p > 0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of lesions by size between the contrast-enhanced and unenhanced sonography groups (chi(2) = 0.619, p > 0.05). The diagnostic accuracy of the initial biopsy was significantly higher in the contrast-enhanced sonography group than in the unenhanced sonography group (95.3% vs 87.4%, respectively; p < 0.05). The diagnostic accuracy of the initial biopsy for malignant lesions < or = 2.0 cm was also significantly higher in the contrast-enhanced sonography group than in the unenhanced sonography group (97.1% vs 78.8%, respectively; p < 0.05). No major complications occurred in our study except one case of pneumothorax in the unenhanced sonography group. CONCLUSION Contrast-enhanced sonography before percutaneous focal liver lesion biopsy improved the diagnostic accuracy of the procedure by providing important intralesional information for differentiating viable, denaturalized, or necrotic tissue; consequently, by providing more accurate information about the site of biopsy even in lesions < or = 2.0 cm, contrast-enhanced sonography before biopsy reduced the number of puncture attempts.

Application of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the diagnosis of solid pancreatic lesions—A comparison of conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced CT

OBJECTIVE To explore the diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) by comparison with conventional ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced CT (CECT) in solid pancreatic lesions. METHOD Ninety patients with solid pancreatic focal lesions were enrolled, including 36 cases of pancreatic carcinoma, 28 cases of pancreatitis, 6 cases of pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, 12 cases of solid pseudopapillary tumor of the pancreas, 6 cases of pancreatic metastases, 1 case of cavernous hemolymphangioma and 1 case of lymphoma. US and CEUS were applied respectively for the diagnosis of a total of 90 cases of solid pancreatic lesions. The diagnostic results were scored on a 5-point scale. Results of CEUS were compared with CECT. RESULTS (1) 3-score cases (undetermined) diagnosed by CEUS were obviously fewer than that of US, while the number of 1-score (definitely benign) and 5-score (definitely malignant) cases diagnosed by CEUS was significantly more than that of US. There was a significant difference in the distribution of final scores using the two methods (p<0.001). The overall diagnostic accuracies of the 90 cases for CEUS and US were 83.33% and 44.44%, respectively, which indicated an obvious advantage for CEUS (p<0.001). (2) The diagnostic consistency among three ultrasound doctors: the kappa values calculated for US were 0.537, 0.444 and 0.525, compared with 0.748, 0.645 and 0.795 for CEUS. The interobserver agreement for CEUS was higher than that for US. (3) The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma with CEUS and CECT were 91.7% and 97.2%, 87.0% and 88.9%, and 88.9% and 92.2%, respectively, while for the diagnosis of pancreatitis, the corresponding indices were 82.1% and 67.9%, 91.9% and 100%, and 88.9% and 90%, respectively, showing no significant differences (p>0.05). CONCLUSION CEUS has obvious superiority over conventional US in the general diagnostic accuracy of solid pancreatic lesions and in the diagnostic consistency among doctors. The performances of CEUS are similar to that of CECT in the diagnosis of pancreatic carcinoma and focal pancreatitis.

The Use of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography in the Selection of Patients With Hepatocellular Carcinoma for Radio Frequency Ablation Therapy

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of contrast‐enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in selecting patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) for radio frequency ablation (RFA).

Role of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in percutaneous radiofrequency ablation of liver metastases and efficacy evaluation

OBJECTIVE To retrospectively investigate the role of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (RFA) in patients with liver metastases and evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of RFA assisted by CEUS. METHODS From May 2004 to September 2010, 136 patients with 219 liver metastatic lesions received CEUS examination 1 h before RFA (CEUS group), and other 126 patients with 216 lesions without CEUS examination in the earlier period were served as a historical control group. The mean tumor size was 3.2 cm and the mean tumor number was 1.6 in the CEUS group, while 3.4 cm and 1.7 in the control group, respectively (P>0.05). The clinical characteristics, recurrence results and survival outcomes were compared between two groups. RESULTS In the CEUS group, two isoechoic tumors were not demonstrated on unenhanced ultrasonography (US), and 63 (47%) of 134 tumors examined with CEUS were 0.3 cm larger than with unenhanced US. Furthermore, in 18.4% of 136 patients, additional 1-3 tumors were detected on CEUS. The CEUS group showed higher early tumor necrosis and lower intrahepatic recurrence than the control group. The 3-year overall survival (OS) rate and the 3-year local recurrence-free survival (LRFS) rate in the CEUS group were 50.1% and 38.3%, in contrast to 25.3% and 19.3% in the control group, respectively (P=0.002 and P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS CEUS provides important information for RFA treatment in patients with liver metastases and better therapeutic effect could be attained.

Role of contrast enhanced ultrasound in radiofrequency ablation of metastatic liver carcinoma

ObjectiveTo investigate the application of contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in planning and guiding for radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for metastatic liver carcinoma (MLC).MethodsOne hundred and thirty-five patients with clinically and pathologically diagnosed MLC (from gastrointestinal tumors) were included in the present study, and 104 of them had received CEUS prior to RFA to assess the number, size, shape, infiltration, location and enhancing features of the lesions. Among the 104 patients, 21 (20.1%) were excluded from RFA treatment due to too many lesions or large infiltrative range based on CEUS. The remaining 83 patients with 147 lesions underwent RFA (group A). During the same period, other 31 patients with 102 lesions serving as control group were treated based on findings of conventional ultrasound without contrast (group B). The patients underwent follow-up enhanced CT at the 1st month, and then every 3–6 months after RFA. The tumor was considered as early necrosis if no contrast enhancement was detected in the treated area on the CT scan at the 1st month.ResultsIn group A, 72 of 147 MLC lesions (48.9%) showed increased sizes on CEUS. Among them, 48 lesions (66.6%) appeared enlarged in arterial phase, and 24 (33.3%) showed enlarged hypoechoic area in parenchymal phase. CEUS showed total 61 additional lesions in 35 patients (42.1%) (ranged from 8 to 15 mm) compared with conventional ultrasound (US), and 42 (68.8%) of them were visualized in parenchymal phase only. There were total 208 lesions in group A underwent RFA with CEUS planning, and the tumor necrosis rate was 94.2% (196/208). In this group, local recurrence was found in 16 lesions (7.7%) during 3–42 months’ following up, and new metastases were seen in 30 cases (36.1%). For group B, the tumor necrosis rate was 86.3% (88/102), local recurrence in 17 lesions (16.7%), and new metastases in 13 cases (41.9%). Tumor early necrosis and recurrence rates were significantly different between the two groups (P=0.018, P=0.016, respectively).ConclusionCEUS played an important role in RFA for liver metastases by candidate selecting and therapy planning, which helped to improve the outcome of the treatment.

Evaluation of contrast-enhanced ultrasound for diagnosis of dysplastic nodules with a focus of hepatocellular carcinoma in liver cirrhosis patients

OBJECTIVE To compare the enhancement features of dysplastic nodules with a focus of hepatocellular carcinoma (DN-HCC) versus HCC and regenerative nodules (RN) in cirrhotic patients. METHODS One hundred and ninety-three cirrhotic patients were enrolled in this study; they had 215 focal liver lesions, 1.0-3.5 cm in size, which were examined using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) with SonoVue(®) and diagnosed as HCC, RN or DN-HCC by biopsy. Samples were obtained using 18-gauge needles in the different enhanced areas. The enhancement features of DN-HCC, HCC and RN were evaluated. RESULTS There were 86 HCC lesions, 102 RN lesions, and 27 DN-HCC lesions diagnosed by biopsy. Of 86 HCC lesions, 87.2% (75/86) showed complete enhancement during the arterial phase, and 12.8% (11/86) had inhomogeneous enhancement, with no enhancement in the central area during the arterial phase; 100% (86/86) exhibited washout during the late phase. Of 102 RN lesions, 95.1% (97/102) had delayed or simultaneous enhancement during the arterial phase, and 4.9% (5/102) displayed slight enhancement during the arterial phase; 26.5% (27/102) exhibited washout and 73.5% (75/102) exhibited no washout during the late phase. In 27 DN-HCC lesions, only part of the lesions enhanced during the arterial phase and washed out during the late phase; the other areas had delayed or simultaneous enhancement during the arterial phase, and 29.6% (8/27) exhibited slight washout in the late phase. In 86 HCCs, the pathological feature was HCC in the enhanced area of 75 lesions, hepatocellular fatty degeneration in the slightly enhanced area of 7 lesions, and hepatocellular necrosis in the unenhanced area and HCC in the enhanced area of 4 lesions. In 102 RNs, the pathological diagnosis was hepatocyte proliferation with or without fatty degeneration. In 27 DN-HCCs, the pathological feature was HCC in the enhanced area and hepatocyte regeneration in the unenhanced area. CONCLUSIONS CEUS is useful for the diagnosis of focal liver lesions in cirrhotic patients. CEUS can help determine the progression from RN to DN-HCC to HCC by analyzing the hemodynamics. CEUS can promote the diagnostic accuracy of a biopsy by providing more accurate information on the site of the biopsy.

Diagnostic Value of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography and Time-Intensity Curve in Differential Diagnosis of Cervical Metastatic and Tuberculous Lymph Nodes: Cervical Metastatic and Tuberculous Lymph Nodes

To evaluate the diagnostic value of contrast‐enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in the differential diagnosis of tuberculous and metastatic lymph nodes.

Clinical Value of Contrast‐Enhanced Ultrasound Enhancement Patterns for Differentiating Focal Pancreatitis From Pancreatic Carcinoma: A Comparison Study With Conventional Ultrasound

We explored the clinical value of using contrast‐enhanced ultrasound (US) enhancement patterns for the differential diagnosis of focal pancreatitis from pancreatic carcinoma.

Diagnostic Value of Arrival Time Parametric Imaging Using Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasonography in Superficial Enlarged Lymph Nodes: Arrival Time Parametric Imaging in Lymph Nodes

The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of arrival‐time parametric imaging for differential diagnosis of superficial enlarged lymph nodes.