Ultrasound manifestation of hepatocellular carcinoma

With the advent of gray scale ultrasonographic equipment, the parenchymal disease of liver is more easily evaluated. Ultrasonography is a non-invasive technique, different from angiography, and performed without discomfort to patient. And also ultrasonography can be used in assessing the liver in cases showing equivocal scintigraphy and in differentiation of solid and cystic masses, first detected on scintigrams. Therefore, the complementary use of ultrasonography, Tc-99m-sulfur colloid scan and angiography provides better diagnostic accuracy for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma, and moreover, sequential ultrasonographic studies in the same patient are valuable of following the course of hepatocellular carcinoma and monitoring the effectiveness of therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma. In thirty patients with histologically proven hepatocellular carcinoma, an analysis of ultrasound manifestation is made and the results are as follows; 1. Ultrasound manifestation of hepatocellular carcinoma by gray scale showed four different sonographic patterns including discrete echo free, discrete echogenic, ill defined echogenic and mixed patterns. 2. The size of hepatocellular carcinoma by ultrasonographic measurement was larger than 5 cm in diameter in 28 cases. 3. In 7 cases performed with angiography, all echogenicities of hepatocellualr carcinoma were correlated with the findings of vascularity of angiography. 4. In cases combined with liver cirrhosis, the sonographic pattern of hepatocellular carcinoma appeared to be discrete or ill defined echogenic patterns