title: [Primary hepatocarcinoma. Diagnostic imaging and chemoembolization].
abstract: The diagnostic and therapeutic approach by means of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization is analyzed in 100 patients affected with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): in all patients the HCC had been diagnosed by means of US-guided fine-needle biopsy: 75 of 100 patients were in Child A class, 24 in Child B and 1 in Child C class. The most sensitive imaging technique to identify HCC proved to be angiography (95%); post-Lipiodol CT was also of great value to stage the disease. The authors suggest a diagnostic-therapeutic approach including angiography and simultaneous chemoembolization right after US-guided biopsy, avoiding conventional CT; such a protocol allows high diagnostic accuracy at a lower cost. Chemoembolization proved to be a safe technique, with a low incidence of mortality and complications; the latter were easy to treat by medical therapy. The follow-up data relative to 39 of 100 patients who underwent 2 or more chemoembolization treatments prove the latter to be a valuable technique relative to both the evolution of HCC nodules (in 18/21 patients with single lesions and in 9/18 patients with multiple lesions, lesion size was unchanged or decreased) and to survival rates (70% in 65 patients followed-up 1 year at least); on the whole, 77 of 100 patients are still alive.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Diagnostica per Immagini, Ospedale Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni, Foggia.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Florio
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nardella
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Balzano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Parracino
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Siena
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Caturelli
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andriulli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cammisa
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D016461:Chemoembolization, Therapeutic; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D015996:Survival Rate; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
vernacular_title: Epatocarcinoma primitivo. Diagnostica per immagini e chemioembolizzazione.