Xiao-Hang Zhang

Detailed analysis of temporal features on contrast enhanced ultrasound may help differentiate intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma from hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhosis.

Aim To verify if detailed analysis of temporal enhancement patterns on contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) may help differentiate intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in cirrhosis. Methods Thirty three ICC and fifty HCC in cirrhosis were enrolled in this study. The contrast kinetics of ICC and HCC was analyzed and compared. Results Statistical analysis did not reveal significant difference between ICC and HCC in the time of contrast first appearance and arterial peak maximum time. ICC displayed much earlier washout than that of HCC (47.93±26.45 seconds vs 90.86±31.26 seconds) in the portal phase, and most ICC (87.9%) showed washout before 60 seconds than HCC (16.0%). Much more ICC (78.8%) revealed marked washout than HCC (12.0%) while most HCC (88.0%) showed mild washout or no washout in late part of the portal phase (90–120 seconds). Twenty six out of thirty three ICC (78.8%) demonstrated both early washout(<60seconds) and marked washout in late part of the portal phase, whereas, only six of fifty HCC (12.0%)showed these temporal enhancement features (p = 0.000).When both early washout and marked washout in the portal phase are taken as diagnostic criterion for ICC, the diagnostic sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy were 78.8%,88.0%,81.3%,86.3%,and 84.3% respectively by CEUS. Conclusions Analysis of detailed temporal enhancement features on CEUS is helpful differentiate ICC from HCC in cirrhosis.If a nodule in cirrhotic liver displays hyper-enhancement in the arterial phase followed by early and marked washout in the portal phase, the nodule is highly suspicious of ICC rather than HCC.

Inhibition Effects of High Mechanical Index Ultrasound Contrast on Hepatic Metastasis of Cancer in a Rat Model

RATIONAL AND OBJECTIVES The liver is the most common organ for tumor metastasis. The development of new methods to depress hepatic metastasis is of great importance in improving survival. The aim of this study was to observe the effects of high-mechanical index ultrasound contrast on hepatic metastasis of colorectal cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS Hepatic metastasis models were established by injecting human colon carcinoma LoVo cells into the spleens of Sprague-Dawley rats. The rats were divided into a control group, a microbubble plus ultrasound group, a simple ultrasound group, and a simple microbubble group. The ultrasound contrast agent SonoVue (1 mL/kg) was injected via the tail vein, and high-mechanical index ultrasound contrast (frequency, 1.5 MHz; mechanical index, 1.7) was performed on the spleen intermittently for 2 minutes. The animals were sacrificed after 10 days, and the sizes and number of hepatic metastases were measured and compared. Histologic pathology and splenic ultrastructure were observed. RESULTS The number and sizes of hepatic metastases patently decreased in rats in the microbubble plus ultrasound group (P < .01). There were no obvious differences among the control group, simple ultrasound group, and simple microbubble group in hepatic metastases (P > .05). Histologic pathology showed that the number of tumor cells in the spleens decreased considerably, and massive necroses, hemorrhages, and thrombi were observed in the tumor and spleen tissues of rats in the microbubble plus ultrasound group. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the mitochondria of tumor cells and endothelial cells were clearly swelled, and there were gaps among endothelial cells and platelets aggregated in capillary vessels. CONCLUSION This research shows that intermittent high-mechanical index ultrasound contrast may inhibit the hepatic metastasis of cancer in a rat model.

Diagnosis of Hepatic Angiomyolipoma by Combination of Baseline and Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound—A Prospective Study in Non-Cirrhotic Patients

Objectives Hepatic angiomyolipoma (HAML) is a rare, benign mesenchymal tumor of the liver and its diagnosis has been considered challenging. The aim of this study was to investigate prospectively the diagnostic efficacy of the incorporation of both baseline ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) features of HAML in patients without cirrhosis. Materials and Methods Consecutive 1748 non-cirrhotic patients with focal liver lesions (FLLs) were prospectively enrolled. Baseline US and CEUS were performed before resection or biopsy. Ultrasound imaging diagnosis of FLLs was compared with the pathological results. Results Final diagnoses were established in 41 patients with HAML (2.3%) with normal alpha fetal protein (AFP) level and in 1707 patients with FLL other than HAML. Diagnostic criteria for HAML was based on the combination of baseline US and CEUS appearance of the nodule: (1) Well-defined, marked hyper-echoic nodule without surrounding hypo-echoic halo on baseline US; (2) hyper-enhancement in the arterial phase (exclude initial peripheral nodular enhancement and spoke-wheel arteries) and remains hyper-enhancement or iso-enhancement in the late phase. The diagnostic criteria were fulfilled in 31 HAMLs, 1 hepatocellular adenoma and 1 hemangioma. Ten HAMLs were misdiagnosed as other liver tumors because they did not meet the diagnostic criteria mentioned above and consequently yielded a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive values, negative predictive values and Youden index of 75.61%, 99.88%, 93.94%, 99.42%, and 0.75 respectively. Conclusion The combination of baseline US and CEUS may lead to the correct diagnosis noninvasively in the majority of HAMLs in non-cirrhotic patients with normal AFP level.

Enhancement Patterns of Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma on Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound: Correlation with Clinicopathologic Findings and Prognosis

To evaluate the correlations between the enhancement pattern of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) on contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and clinicopathologic findings and prognosis, a retrospective study was performed on 197 patients with mass-forming ICC who underwent pre-operative CEUS and surgical resection. The contrast medium we employed in CEUS was SonoVue, which contains microbubbles consisting of sulfur hexafluoride bubbles within a phospholipid shell. This study was approved by the institutional review board with informed consent waived. Patients were classified into an arterial rim-like enhancement group or an arterial non-rim-like enhancement group, and arterial enhancement patterns were correlated with clinicopathologic factors. Overall survival (OS) times were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and differences between groups were compared with the log-rank test. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models for OS were used to evaluate the independent prognostic factors. The mean and range of ICC tumor size of the arterial rim-like group (59.41 ± 22.09 mm, 20-100 mm) were similar to those of the arterial non-rim-like group (59.82 ± 30.35 mm, 14-162 mm, p = 0.914). Arterial enhancement patterns were correlated with chronic viral hepatitis or cirrhosis, vascular invasion, lymph node metastasis and single/multiple tumors. A total of 78 patients (39.6%) exhibited arterial rim-like enhancement, and the other 119 patients (60.4%) exhibited arterial non-rim-like enhancement. Arterial enhancement pattern (p = 0.045), vascular invasion (p = 0.005), lymph node metastasis (p = 0.000) and number of tumors (p = 0.001) were independent prognostic factors for OS. The arterial non-rim-like enhancement pattern of ICC on CEUS is an independent prognostic factor for better OS and may offer new information for predicting the prognosis of ICC patients before surgical resection.

Perfusion Characteristics of Hepatocellular Carcinoma at Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound: Influence of the Cellular differentiation, the Tumor Size and the Underlying Hepatic Condition

This study aimed to analyze the influence of the cellular differentiation, the tumor size and the underlying hepatic condition on the enhancement pattern of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) on contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS). 276 patients with single lesion ≤ 5 cm who underwent CEUS exam and were pathologically confirmed as HCC were retrospectively enrolled. Enhancement patterns, washout patterns, wash-in time and washout time were observed and recorded. During the arterial phase, more poorly differentiated HCCs (42.5%) and lesions > 3 cm (35.2%) performed inhomogeneous enhancement (p < 0.05). More well differentiated HCCs (63.4%) performed late washout or no washout while compared with moderately (37.8%) or poorly (24.1%) differentiated HCCs (p < 0.05). Poorly differentiated HCCs showed the shortest washout time (83.0 ± 39.8 s), moderately differentiated HCCs showed the moderate washout time (100.4 ± 52.1 s), and well differentiated HCCs showed the longest washout time (132.3 ± 54.2 s) (p < 0.05). Lesions > 3 cm (97.2 ± 51.3 s) washed out more rapidly than lesions ≤ 3 cm (113.9 ± 53.5 s) (p < 0.05). The dynamic enhancement procedure of HCC was influenced by the cellular differentiation and the tumor size. While, hepatic background showed no influence on the dynamic enhancement of HCC.

Unusual sonographic appearance of a huge angiomyolipoma of the liver.

Hepatic angiomyolipoma is a rare, benign, hepatic mesenchymal neoplasm. We report a case of an extremely large hepatic angiomyolipoma in a 58‐year‐old woman with unusual sonographic features. The tumor was well demarcated from the surrounding liver and showed a heterogeneous cystic appearance with a thick echogenic rim. Color Doppler showed blood flow in the echogenic rim and around the lesion. Contrast sonography demonstrated strong enhancement in the solid rim from early arterial phase to the late phase and no enhancement in the central cystic part of the lesion. Spiral CT showed a well‐defined huge heterogeneous cystic mass with fatty density. At surgery the tumor was soft and encapsulated with a thin, smooth membrane. The cut surface of the tumor revealed a cystic appearance with necrotic tissue. The diagnosis of hepatic angiomyolipoma was confirmed by immunohistochemistry.