The diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for assessing hepatocellular carcinoma compared to histopathology;a retrospective single-center analysis of 119 patients 1
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online January 11, 2021
The diagnostic value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for assessing hepatocellular carcinoma compared to histopathology;a retrospective single-center analysis of 119 patients 1
HCC as the 6th most common tumor entity with the fourth highest mortality and an increasing prevalence especially due to today’s lifestyle acquires a high attention in the clinical setting. Beside CECT and CEMRI, CEUS depicts a dynamic, low-risk and radiation free imaging method that finds its use mainly in screening and active surveillance programs.
PURPOSE:
The aim of the retrospective study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of CEUS in correlation to pathologic findings.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Between 2004 and 2018 a total number of 119 patients were included in this retrospective single-center study. Every patient underwent CEUS in addition to a native B-mode and Color-Doppler scan. After given informed consent SonoVue® (Bracco, Milan, Italy), a second-generation blood-pool agent, was used as contrast medium. Every examination was performed and interpreted by a single experienced radiologist (EFSUMB level 3). A low mechanical index (MI) of <0,2 was chosen to obtain a good imaging quality.
RESULTS:
All 119 included patients received CEUS followed by a liver biopsy for inter-modality comparison. In correlation to the pathology results, CEUS showed a diagnostic sensitivity of 96,6%, a specificity of 63,9%, a PPV of 86,7% and a NPV of 88,5% by detecting liver lesions suspicious for HCC. According to the Cohen’s Kappa coefficient (k = 0,659) CEUS shows a strong inter-modality agreement in comparison to the histopathological finding.
CONCLUSION:
With a high sensitivity and a strong cross-modality comparability to histopathology, the CEUS is highly effective in the detection of suspicious HCC lesions.
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