Affiliations: [a]
Department of Ultrasound, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| [b]
Department of Radiology, University Medical Center Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
Correspondence:
[*]
Corresponding author: Prof. Dr. med. Wen-Ping Wang, Department of Ultrasound, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, 180 Fenglin Road, Shanghai, 200032, China. Tel.: +86 0 21 64041990 2474; Fax: +86 0 21 64220319; E-mail: puguang61@126.com; Prof. Dr. med. Ernst-Michael Jung, Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, Institut für Röntgendiagnostik, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany. E-mail: ernst-michael.jung@ukr.de.
Note: [1] These authors contributed to this work equally as first authors.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE:To investigate the clinical value of dynamic contrast enhanced ultrasound (D-CEUS) in predicting the microvascular invasion (MVI) of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). PATIENTS AND METHODS:In this retrospective study, 16 patients with surgery and histopathologically proved HCC lesions were included. Patients were classified according to the presence of MVI: MVI positive group (n = 6) and MVI negative group (n = 10). Contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) examinations were performed within a week before surgery. Dynamic analysis was performed by VueBox® software (Bracco, Italy). Three regions of interests (ROIs) were set in the center of HCC lesions, at the margin of HCC lesions and in the surrounding liver parenchyma accordingly. Time intensity curves (TICs) were generated and quantitative perfusion parameters including WiR (wash-in rate), WoR (wash-out rate), WiAUC (wash-in area under the curve), WoAUC (wash-out area under the curve) and WiPi (wash-in perfusion index) were obtained and analyzed. RESULTS:All of HCC lesions showed arterial hyperenhancement (100 %) and at the late phase as hypoenhancement (75%) in CEUS. Among all CEUS quantitative parameters, the WiAUC and WoAUC were higher in MVI positive group than in MVI negative group in the center HCC lesions (P < 0.05), WiAUC, WoAUC and WiPI were higher in MVI positive group than in MVI negative group at the margin of HCC lesions. WiR and WoR were significant higher in MVI positive group. CONCLUSIONS:D-CEUS with quantitative perfusion analysis has potential clinical value in predicting the existence of MVI in HCC lesions.
