Project description:BackgroundHepatic sarcomatoid carcinoma (HSC) and hepatic sarcoma (HS) are rare malignancies. Without pathology, the differential diagnosis between these two tumors is difficult due to their frequent overlaps in clinical presentations and imaging features. Currently, there are limited analyses about the ultrasound (US), contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and contrast-enhanced computer tomography (CECT) characteristics of HSC and HS. Therefore, the purpose of our study is to evaluate the value of US, CEUS and CECT on the differential diagnosis between HSC and HS.MethodsFrom 2015 to 2022, a total of 23 patients with HSC (n = 11) and HS (n = 12) are included in this retrospective study. We analyze the clinical, pathological, and imaging data of these patients. Analysis of differences is performed to determine the consistent and distinctive features.ResultsHSCs have a considerably higher prevalence of chronic hepatitis (p = 0.005) and cirrhosis (p = 0.027) than HSs, while metastases are more prevalent in HSs (p = 0.005). The lesion size of HSCs (8.1 ± 2.2 cm) is slightly larger than that of HSs (6.2 ± 3.4 cm). On conventional US, the characteristics of HS and HSC are similar. In CEUS, HSCs consistently showed heterogeneous enhancement patterns, while HSs, particularly hepatic angiosarcoma (HA), demonstrated a higher prevalence of hyperintensity (75%). On CECT, all masses in both groups exhibited low density. A statistically significant difference in margin clarity was observed between HSC and HS (p = 0.015).ConclusionHSC and HS generally present as masses with hypo-echoic and hypo-vascularity. HSC usually presents heterogeneous density. The degree of enhancement, the time of wash-out start, and the presence of necrotic areas may contribute to distinguish the different pathological types of HS.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Perfusion assessment of the pancreas is challenging and poorly evaluated. Pancreatic affection is a prevalent feature of cystic fibrosis (CF). Little is known about pancreatic perfusion in CF. We aimed to assess pancreatic perfusion by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) analysed in the bolus-and-burst model and software. METHODS:We performed contrast enhanced ultrasound of the pancreas in 25 CF patients and 20 healthy controls. Perfusion data was analysed using a dedicated perfusion model providing the mean capillary transit-time (MTT), blood flow (BF) and blood-volume (BV). CF patients were divided according to exocrine function. RESULTS:The pancreas insufficient CF patients had longer MTT (p ≤ 0.002), lower BF (p < 0.001) and lower BV (p < 0.05) compared to the healthy controls and sufficient CF patients. Interrater analysis showed substantial agreement for the analysis of mean transit time. CONCLUSION:The bolus-and-burst method used on pancreatic CEUS-examinations demonstrates reduced perfusion in CF patients with pancreas affection. The perfusion model and software requires further optimization and standardization to be clinical applicable for the assessment of pancreatic perfusion.
Project description:This study aimed to assess whether contrast-enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasonography (CH-EUS), compared to multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is useful for early diagnosis of small pancreatic cancer (PC). Between March 2010 and June 2018, all three imaging modalities and surgery were performed for patients with a pancreatic solid lesion measuring ?20 mm; diagnostic ability was compared among modalities. Fifty-one of 60 patients were diagnosed with PC (PC size in 41 patients: 11-20 mm; 10 patients: ?10 mm). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CH-EUS, MDCT, and MRI for PC (11-20 mm) detection were 95%/83%/94%, 78%/83%/79%, and 73%/33%/68%, respectively. The diagnostic ability of CH-EUS was significantly superior compared with MDCT and MRI (p = 0.002 and p = 0.007, respectively). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of CH-EUS, MDCT, and MRI for PC (?10 mm) detection were 70%/100%/77%, 20%/100%/38%, and 50%/100%/62%, respectively. The diagnostic ability of CH-EUS tended to be superior to that of MDCT (p = 0.025). The sensitivity of MDCT for PC (?10 mm) detection was significantly lower than that for PC (11-20 mm) detection (20% vs. 78%; p = 0.001). CH-EUS, compared to MDCT and MRI, is useful for diagnosing small PCs.
Project description:The aim of this study was to review the efficacy of contrast-enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasonography (CH-EUS) in diagnosing gallbladder (GB)-protruded lesions. Thirty-eight patients underwent CH-EUS for the diagnosis of GB-protruded lesions. Twenty-four patients whose major axes of their largest lesions were longer than 10 mm were recruited. The ability of CH-EUS to diagnose malignant or benign lesions was reviewed. We treated lesions with brindled enhanced patterns as malignant and those with uniformly enhanced or unenhanced patterns as benign. Furthermore, three gastroenterologists who were not familiar with pancreaticobiliary EUS compared the diagnostic abilities of CH-EUS and conventional EUS using photographs. The sensitivity, specificity, and malignant accuracy of CH-EUS were 100, 94.4, and 95.8%, respectively. The number of lesions that presented with enhanced patterns was significantly different between the malignant lesions and the benign lesions (P < 0.001). In the comparison of diagnostic abilities between CH-EUS and conventional EUS by the three gastroenterologists, CH-EUS was significantly superior to conventional EUS in terms of sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy (76.1 vs. 42.9%, P = 0.029; 66.7 vs. 39.2%, P = 0.005; and 69.4 vs. 40.3%, P < 0.001; respectively). In conclusion, CH-EUS was useful for diagnosing malignant and benign GB-protruded lesions.
Project description:Pancreas divisum (PD) is the most common developmental anatomic variant of pancreatic duct. Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) is often performed to evaluate idiopathic pancreatitis and has been shown to have high accuracy in diagnosis of PD. The different techniques to identify PD by linear EUS have been described differently by different authors. If EUS is done with a proper technique it can be a valuable tool in the diagnosis of PD. The anatomical and technical background of different signs has not been described so far. This article summarizes the different techniques of imaging of pancreatic duct in a suspected case of PD and gives a technical explanation of various signs. The common signs seen during evaluation of pancreatic duct in PD are stack sign of linear EUS, crossed duct sign on linear EUS, the dominant duct and ventral dorsal duct (VD) transition. Few other signs are described which include duct above duct, short ventral duct /absent ventral duct, separate opening of ducts with no communication, separate opening of ducts with filamentous communication, stacking of duct of Santorini and indirect signs like santorinecele. The principles of the sign have been explained on an anatomical basis and the techniques and the principles described in the review will be helpful in technical evaluation of PD during EUS.
Project description:BackgroundCurrent practice guidelines recommend the use of ultrasound (US) as an initial surveillance tool for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients with liver cirrhosis. Patients with liver cirrhosis, however, frequently have coarse liver parenchyma, masking the presence of tiny nodules during B-mode US. Contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) with Sonazoid has a long-lasting, stable Kupffer phase, which makes it possible to scan the entire liver to depict small lesions. In addition, defect reperfusion imaging (reinjection imaging) enables to determine whether the detected nodule is HCC or not. This prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trial was conducted to demonstrate the usefulness of Kupffer phase surveillance in the detection of small HCC compared to B-mode US.MethodsA total of 23 institutions joined this study. In total, 656 patients with hepatitis B- or C-related liver cirrhosis were randomized either to the B-mode US surveillance group (n = 313) or the Kupffer phase CEUS with Sonazoid surveillance group (n = 309). The primary endpoint was the maximum size of HCC at the time of the first detection. Secondary endpoints included time to HCC detection, number of tumors, and Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage at the first detection, and sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of each method in the diagnosis, and the cumulative detection rate of HCC.ResultsThe mean HCC size at the first detection was significantly smaller in the CEUS (13.0 ± 4.1 mm; n = 28) than in the B-mode US group (16.7 ± 4.1 mm; n = 26) (p = 0.011). Of the 38 patients with HCV cirrhosis diagnosed with HCC by US alone, mean tumor size at the first detection was significantly smaller in the 20 patients diagnosed by CEUS alone than in the 18 diagnosed by B-mode US alone (12.7 ± 3.1 vs. 17.6 ± 7.0 mm, p = 0.012). In contrast, among the 16 patients with HBV cirrhosis diagnosed by US alone, mean tumor size at the first detection was similar in the 8 patients diagnosed by CEUS alone and the 8 diagnosed by B-mode US (13.6 ± 6.0 vs. 14.5 ± 2.7 mm, p = 0.715).ConclusionKupffer phase CEUS surveillance with Sonazoid is extremely useful for the early detection and confirmation of HCC using a reinjection technique. Kupffer phase CEUS with Sonazoid contrast combined with the reinjection technique is, therefore, recommended as first-line screening tool for HCC in patients with liver cirrhosis, especially those with very coarse liver parenchyma.
Project description:Background/aimsRecent studies have revealed that contrast-enhanced harmonic endoscopic ultrasonography (CEH-EUS) is beneficial in the differential diagnosis of malignant neoplasms of the pancreas and gallbladder from benign masses, in terms of the evaluation of microvasculature and real-time perfusion. In this study, we aimed to prove the clinical value of CEH-EUS in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic and gallbladder masses by direct comparison with that of conventional EUS.MethodsWe reviewed the sonographic images and medical information of 471 patients who underwent conventional EUS and CEH-EUS for the diagnosis of pancreatic and gallbladder masses at a single medical center (Severance Hospital, Seoul, Korea) between March 2010 and March 2016.ResultsThe enhancement pattern of CEH-EUS of the pancreatic solid masses showed higher sensitivity and specificity in differentiating pancreatic adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine tumors (82.0% and 87.9% for pancreatic adenocarcinoma and 81.1% and 90.9% for neuroendocrine tumors, respectively), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves was higher than that of conventional EUS. The enhancement texture of CEH-EUS of the gallbladder masses showed a higher sensitivity in differentiating malignant masses than that of conventional EUS; however, the difference between the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves was not statistically significant.ConclusionsCEH-EUS can complement conventional EUS in the diagnosis of pancreatic and gallbladder masses, in terms of the limitations of the latter.
Project description:OBJECTIVE: To explore the potential of quantitative analysis of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in differentiating focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH) from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS: 34 cases of FNH and 66 cases of HCC (all lesions <5 cm) were studied using CEUS to evaluate enhancement patterns and using analytic software Sonoliver® (Image-Arena™ v.4.0, TomTec Imaging Systems, Munich, Germany) to obtain quantitative features of CEUS in the region of interest. The quantitative features of maximum of intensity (IMAX), rise slope (RS), rise time (RT) and time to peak (TTP) were compared between the two groups and applied to further characterise both FNH and HCC with hypoenhancing patterns in the late phase on CEUS. RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of CEUS for diagnosis of FNH were 67.6% and 93.9%, respectively. For quantitative analysis, IMAX and RS in FNHs were significantly higher than those in HCCs (p<0.05), while RT and TTP in FNHs were significantly shorter (p<0.05). Both the 11 FNHs and 62 HCCs with hypo-enhancing patterns in the late phase were further characterised with their quantitative features, and the sensitivity and specificity of IMAX for diagnosis of FNH were 90.9% and 43.5%, RS 81.8% and 80.6%, RT 90.9% and 71.0%, and TTP 90.9% and 71.0%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The quantitative features of CEUS in FNH and HCC were significantly different, and they could further differentiate FNH from HCC following conventional CEUS. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: Our findings suggest that quantitative analysis of CEUS can improve the accuracy of differentiating FNH from HCC.
Project description:BackgroundAntiangiogenesis is a promising therapy for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but the effects are difficult to be evaluated. Pazopanib (GW786034B) is a pan-vascular endothelial growth factor receptor inhibitor, the antitumor effects or antiangiogenic effects haven't been investigated in HCC.MethodsIn vitro direct effects of pazopanib on human HCC cell lines and endothelial cells were evaluated. In vivo antitumor effects were evaluated in three xenograft nude mice models. In the subcutaneous HCCLM3 model, intratumoral blood perfusion was detected by contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS), and serial quantitative parameters were profiled from the time-intensity curves of ultrasonograms.ResultsIn vitro proliferation of various HCC cell lines were not inhibited by pazopanib. Pazopanib inhibited migration and invasion and induced apoptosis significantly in two HCC cell lines, HCCLM3 and PLC/PRF/5. Proliferation, migration, and tubule formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells were inhibited by pazopanib in a dose-dependent manner. In vivo tumor growth was significantly inhibited by pazopanib in HCCLM3, HepG2, and PLC/PRF/5 xenograft models. Various intratumoral perfusion parameters changed over time, and the signal intensity was significantly impaired in the treated tumors before the treatment efficacy on tumor size could be observed. Mean transit time of the contrast media in hotspot areas of the tumors was reversely correlated with intratumoral microvessel density.ConclusionsAntitumor effects of pazopanib in HCC xenografts may owe to its antiangiogenic effects, and the in vivo antiangiogenic effects could be evaluated by quantitative CEUS.