title: Hepatocellular carcinoma: correlation of CT, angiographic, and histopathologic findings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To elucidate the causes of various enhancement patterns of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs).
  
  
  METHODS
  Computed tomographic (CT) scans of 68 surgically resected HCCs (62 patients) were obtained 45 seconds and 6 minutes after administration of contrast material. These scans were compared with angiographic and histopathologic findings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  On the early images, 24 HCCs (35%) were hypoattenuating, 33 were totally or partially hyperattenuating (48%), and 11 were isoattenuating (16%) compared to adjacent liver. On the delayed images, 55 HCCs (81%) were hypoattenuating and 13 (19%) were isoattenuating. Twenty-nine of the 48 very hypervascular or hypervascular tumors (60%) were hyperattenuating or partially hyperattenuating at early CT. Sixteen of the 20 slightly hypervascular or hypovascular tumors (80%) were isoattenuating or hypoattenuating.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although there was relatively good agreement between tumor vascularity and enhancement pattern (60% correlation for hypervascular tumors, 80% correlation for hypovascular tumors), hyperattenuation of the large HCCs (> or = 5 cm) at CT appeared to be a function of dilated sinusoids within the tumor (peliotic changes) as well as vascularity. In patients with advanced cirrhosis, hypovascular HCCs could be hyperattenuating at CT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Honda
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ochiai
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Adachi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yasumori
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kawashima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukuya
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gibo
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumata
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsuneyoshi
mesh_terms: D000792:Angiography; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007479:Iopamidol; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D007479:Iopamidol