Cavernous hemangioma of the liver

Radionuclide angiography was performed with sup(99m)Tc-labelled in vivo blood cells in sixteen lesions of fourteen patients with hepatic cavernous hemangiomas and in 6 with hepatoma, including the analysis of time activity curve in the regions of tumor and liver. Cavernous hemangiomas in 12 cases presented perfusion defects in the early flow study and showed accumulation of radionuclide in the delayed blood-pool study in 13 cases. Time activity curves of cavernous hemangiomas showed gradual increase in radioactivity for a few to more than ten minutes after radionuclide injection. It was apparently different from that of the normal liver which showed no increase in activity in the blood-pool phase. Hepatomas presented increased perfusion in the early blood-pool studies, but no apparent accumulation of radionuclide like cavernous hemangioma in the delayed blood-pool phase. Cavernous hemangiomas showed specific time activity curves reflecting decreased perfusion and increased blood volume of the lesion. sup(99m)Tc labelled RBCs angiography may be useful in diagnosis of hepatic cavernous hemangioma as a non invasive technique. (author)