Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound (DCE-US) for Easy and Rapid Evaluation of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Compared to Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Computed Tomography (DCE-CT) - A Pilot Study

作者：Egger C^*; Goertz R S; Strobel D; Lell M; Neurath M F; Knieling F; Scharf M

来源：Ultraschall in der Medizin, 2012, 33(6): 587-592.

DOI：10.1055/s-0032-1325545

• abdomen
• ultrasound computed tomography (US/CT)
• technology assessment

Purpose: To check the feasibility of the easy quantification of tumor vascularization derived from dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) in comparison to dynamic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (DCE-CT) in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). %26lt;br%26gt;Materials and Methods: 19 patients with cirrhosis and histologically proven HCC prospectively underwent CEUS (SonoVue) and CT (Imeron400). Following CEUS, the software Image]. was used for the easy quantification of the echogenicity in HCC lesions and tumor-free liver parenchyma. For DCE-CT we used the software Hepacare and created arterial enhancement fraction color maps of the whole liver and HCC lesions. %26lt;br%26gt;Results: Unifocal/multifocal HCCs were detected in 12/7 (US) and 10/9 patients (CT) and biopsied nodules were defined as a reference lesion with a median of 40 mm (US) and 42 mm (CT). CEUS showed HCC-typical hyper-/hypoenhancement in the arterial/late phase in 16/19 reference lesions, while all reference lesions showed an HCC-typical vascular pattern in CT. With DCE-US, quantitative assessment could not be performed in 3/19 patients due to respiratory motion or insufficient image quality. 13/16 reference lesions showed an HCC-typical vascular pattern. Quantitative assessment was possible with DCE-CT in all patients and all reference nodules showed HCC-typical values of the arterial enhancement fraction. There was no statistical difference between CEUS, DCE-US and DCE-CT in the quantitative assessment of contrast enhancement. %26lt;br%26gt;Conclusion: The quantitative evaluation of DCE-US was feasible in HCC without a statistical difference with respect to DCE-CT. Further studies with a larger study population including small nodules %26lt;= 2 cm are needed to assess whether this technique is helpful in routine ultrasound.

• 出版日期2012-12