HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Yoon, S. H. Articles by Choi, B. I. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Yoon, S. H. Articles by Choi, B. I. Social Bookmarking                      What's this? Hotlight (NEW!) What's Hotlight?

Multiphasic MDCT Enhancement Pattern of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Smaller Than 3 cm in Diameter: Tumor Size and Cellular Differentiation

¹ Department of Radiology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, 28 Yongon-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul, 110-744, Korea.
² Institute of Radiation Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
³ Department of Radiology, Daerim St. Mary's Hospital, Seoul, Korea.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to evaluate according to size and degree of cellular differentiation the multiphasic MDCT enhancement pattern of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) smaller than 3 cm in diameter in patients with cirrhosis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS. In 155 consecutively registered patients (126 men, 29 women; mean age, 58.4 years), 204 pathologically proven HCCs smaller than 3 cm were detected at multiphasic MDCT. Three radiologists in consensus classified the relative attenuation of the tumors compared with the surrounding liver parenchyma as hyperattenuation, isoattenuation, or hypoattenuation on biphasic (n = 86) and triphasic (n = 69) CT scans.

RESULTS. The prevalent enhancement patterns of HCC differed depending on tumor size. The prevalent pattern of HCC measuring 20–29 mm was arterial hyperattenuation with venous washout (47%, 47/101). The prevalent enhancement patterns of HCC smaller than 10 mm and HCC measuring 10–19 mm were isoattenuation during the arterial and portal venous phases (29%, 6/21) and hyperattenuation and isoattenuation during the arterial and portal venous phases (33%, 27/82). The typical HCC enhancement pattern (arterial hyperattenuation with venous washout) was identified in 48% (67/141) of the moderately and poorly differentiated HCCs and in 13% (8/63) of well-differentiated HCCs.

CONCLUSION. The prevalent enhancement patterns of HCC smaller than 3 cm on multiphasic MDCT scans differed depending on tumor size and cellular differentiation. HCCs smaller than 2 cm and well-differentiated HCCs frequently had atypical enhancement patterns.

Keywords: enhancement pattern • hepatocellular carcinoma • MDCT

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?