VueBox® for quantitative analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in liver tumors

Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (DCE-US) enables quantification of tumor perfusion. VueBox is a platform independent external software using DICOM cine loops which objectively provides various DCE-US parameters of tumor vascularity. This review summaries its use for diagnosis and treatment monitoring of liver tumors. The existing literature provides evidence on the successful application of Vuebox based DCE-US for characterization and differential diagnosis of focal liver lesions, as well as on its use for monitoring of local ablative therapies and of modern systemic treatment in oncology.

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Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound of Benign Focal Liver Lesions

Ultraschall in der Medizin - European Journal of Ultrasound ◽

10.1055/a-0668-5746 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 40 (01) ◽

pp. 12-29 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Christoph Dietrich

Keyword(s):

Liver Tumors ◽

Diagnostic Workup ◽

Focal Liver Lesions ◽

Liver Lesions ◽

Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound ◽

First Line ◽

Benign Liver Tumors ◽

Contrast Enhanced ◽

Line Imaging ◽

Benign Liver

AbstractThe diagnostic handling of benign focal liver lesions (FLLs) is a challenge and it is difficult to avoid over- and underdiagnosis. Conventional B-mode ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) are the first-line imaging methods to detect and characterize FLLs. This CME article discusses the diagnostic workup of benign liver tumors.

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Quantitative Analysis of the Time–Intensity Curve of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound of the Liver: Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Liver Lesions

Diagnostics ◽

10.3390/diagnostics11071244 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 1244

Author(s):

Sonja Schwarz ◽

Dirk-André Clevert ◽

Michael Ingrisch ◽

Thomas Geyer ◽

Vincent Schwarze ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Logistic Regression ◽

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Late Phase ◽

Focal Liver Lesions ◽

Liver Lesions ◽

Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound ◽

Contrast Enhanced ◽

Malignant Lesions ◽

Benign Liver ◽

Benign Liver Lesions

Background: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of quantitative perfusion parameters in contrast-enhanced ultrasound to differentiate malignant from benign liver lesions. Methods: In this retrospective study 134 patients with a total of 139 focal liver lesions were included who underwent contrast enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) between 2008 and 2018. All examinations were performed by a single radiologist with more than 15 years of experience using a second-generation blood pool contrast agent. The standard of reference was histopathology (n = 60), MRI or CT (n = 75) or long-term CEUS follow up (n = 4). For post processing regions of interests were drawn both inside of target lesions and the liver background. Time–intensity curves were fitted to the CEUS DICOM dataset and the rise time (RT) of contrast enhancement until peak enhancement, and a late-phase ratio (LPR) of signal intensities within the lesion and the background tissue, were calculated and compared between malignant and benign liver lesion using Student’s t-test. Quantitative parameters were evaluated with respect to their diagnostic accuracy using receiver operator characteristic curves. Both features were then combined in a logistic regression model and the cumulated accuracy was assessed. Results: RT of benign lesions (14.8 ± 13.8 s, p = 0.005), and in a subgroup analysis, particular hemangiomas (23.4 ± 16.2 s, p < 0.001) differed significantly to malignant lesions (9.3 ± 3.8 s). The LPR was significantly different between benign (1.59 ± 1.59, p < 0.001) and malignant lesions (0.38 ± 0.23). Logistic regression analysis with RT and LPR combined showed a high diagnostic accuracy of quantitative CEUS parameters with areas under the curve of 0.923 (benign vs. malignant) and 0.929 (hemangioma vs. malignant. Conclusions: Quantified CEUS parameters are helpful to differentiate malignant from benign liver lesions, in particular in case of atypical hemangiomas.

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Use of Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound with Sonazoid for Evaluating the Radiotherapy Efficacy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Diagnostics ◽

10.3390/diagnostics11030486 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 486

Author(s):

Akihiro Funaoka ◽

Kazushi Numata ◽

Atsuya Takeda ◽

Yusuke Saigusa ◽

Yuichirou Tsurugai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hepatocellular Carcinoma ◽

Retrospective Study ◽

Local Recurrence ◽

Tumor Size ◽

Size Reduction ◽

Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound ◽

Tumor Vascularity ◽

Contrast Enhanced

Radiotherapy is one of the available curative therapies for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We investigate the use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound using Sonazoid (SCEUS) in evaluating the efficacy of radiotherapy for HCC. We enrolled 59 patients with 59 HCCs in this retrospective study. Tumor size and tumor vascularity were evaluated using SCEUS before and 1, 3, 7, 10, and 13 months after radiotherapy. The median follow-up period was 44.5 months (range: 16–82 months). Of the HCCs, 95% (56/59) had no local recurrence, while 5% (3/59) did. At 13 months after radiotherapy, in cases with no local recurrence, SCEUS showed a reduction in tumor vascularity in all cases, while tumor size reduction (>30% reduction, compared with pre-radiotherapy) was observed in 82.1% (46/56). In all three cases of local recurrence, vascularity and tumor size reduction were not observed during the follow-up period and residual HCCs were demonstrated pathologically. Compared with cases with local recurrence, tumor size reduction and reduction in tumor vascularity (p < 0.001) were significantly greater in cases with no local recurrence at 13 months after radiotherapy. SCEUS may be useful in evaluating radiotherapy efficacy for HCC.

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