Multislice computed tomography using a triple-phase contrast protocol for preoperative assessment of hepatic tumor load in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma before liver transplantation

Visualization of the microvascular network and thrombi in the microvasculature is a key step to evaluating the development of tumor growth and metastasis, and influences treatment selection. X-ray phase-contrast computed tomography (PCCT) is a new imaging technique that can detect minute changes of density and reveal soft tissues discrimination at micrometer-scale resolution. In this study, six human resected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues were investigated with PCCT. A histological stain was added to estimate the accuracy of PCCT. The results showed that the fine structures of the microvasculature (measuring 30–100 µm) and thrombi in tiny blood vessels were displayed clearly on imaging the HCC tissues by PCCT. Moreover, density distributions of the thrombi were obtained, which could be reliably used to distinguish malignant from benign thrombi in HCC. In conclusion, PCCT can clearly show the three-dimensional subtle structures of HCC that cannot be detected by conventional absorption-based computed tomography and provides a new method for the imageology of HCC.

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Hepatocellular carcinoma in patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation: radiological findings with anatomopathological correlation in Brazil

Arquivos de Gastroenterologia ◽

10.1590/s0004-28032006000100008 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 43 (1) ◽

pp. 24-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Antônio Carlos Maciel ◽

Carlos Thadeu Cerski ◽

Roger Klein Moreira ◽

Vinicius Labrea Resende ◽

Maria Lúcia Zanotelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Computed Tomography ◽

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Liver Transplantation ◽

Hepatitis C Virus ◽

Hepatitis C ◽

Orthotopic Liver Transplantation ◽

Imaging Techniques ◽

Arterial Phase ◽

Hepatitis C Virus Infection ◽

Cirrhotic Patients

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma is one of the most common malignant tumors worldwide. Imaging techniques, specially computed tomography and ultrasound, are among the most useful diagnostic tools, although the accuracy of these methods may have a significant variability. AIMS: To determine the prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation at "Santa Casa de Misericórdia" of Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; to estimate the sensitivity of computed tomography and ultrasound in pretransplantation detection of hepatocellular carcinoma in this population; to correlate the radiological characteristics with anatomopathological findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Retrospective prevalence study. Population: adult, cirrhotic patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation from January 1990 to July 2003. Among the 292 transplanted patients, 31 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma were diagnosed, of which 29 were included in the study. Tumor characteristics in both ultrasound and computed tomography were compared to those observed in anatomopathological examination. RESULTS: Prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection among patients with diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma was 93.5%, and the prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma among transplanted patients was 10.6%. The overall sensitivity of the imaging techniques was 70.3% for computed tomography and 72% for ultrasound. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma at our institution, as well as the sensitivity of both ultrasound and computed tomography to detect such tumors at pretransplantation screening were similar to those found by other authors, while the prevalence of hepatitis C virus infection, the most common etiological agent for liver disease in our patients, is one of the highest ever reported in literature. Factors influencing hepatocellular carcinoma detection rates were: time from examination to liver transplantation; acquisition of computed tomography images during arterial phase; lesion size. Arterial phase proved to be the most useful part of computed tomography examination in this study.

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