title: Sonographic characteristics of small hepatocellular carcinoma.
abstract: Fifty-four lesions of small hepatocellular carcinoma under 5 cm in diameter detected by real-time sonography were reviewed to characterize the sonographic feature. Twenty-nine lesions were smaller than 3 cm in diameter and 25 were between 3 and 5 cm in diameter. Sonographic characteristics of hepatocellular carcinoma were peripheral hypoechoic halo (52%), lateral shadow (26%), posterior acoustic enhancement (44%), and mosaic pattern (24%) of the mass. Small tumors less than 3 cm in diameter showed a hypoechoic pattern in half of the cases, whereas most of the tumors between 3 and 5 cm in diameter showed a hyperechoic or mixed pattern. Posterior acoustic enhancement was commonly seen in small tumors less than 3 cm in diameter, while a mosaic pattern was commonly seen in large tumors between 3 and 5 cm in diameter. These results suggest that sonography might be useful for the characterization of small hepatocellular carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Korea.
authors.forename: B I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: C Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: H S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Y I
authors.initials: YI
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014463:Ultrasonography