title: Hepatocellular carcinoma treated with percutaneous radio-frequency ablation: usefulness of power Doppler US with a microbubble contrast agent in evaluating therapeutic response-preliminary results.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the usefulness of power Doppler ultrasonography (US) with a microbubble contrast agent in assessing the therapeutic response of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) treated with percutaneous radio-frequency (RF) ablation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty patients with 45 nodular HCC lesions 1.0-3.8 cm in diameter underwent power Doppler US before and after intravenous injection of a microbubble contrast agent. The same procedures were repeated after US-guided percutaneous RF ablation. The results of these studies were compared with those of three-phase helical computed tomography (CT) performed immediately after RF ablation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Before RF ablation, nonenhanced power Doppler US demonstrated flow signals within tumor in 33 of 45 HCCs. After contrast agent administration, flow signals increased or newly appeared in all cases. After RF ablation, none of the ablated tumors showed intratumoral flow signals at nonenhanced power Doppler US, whereas six showed marginal intratumoral flow signals at contrast agent-enhanced power Doppler US. These six tumors were found to have small enhancing foci, suggestive of viable tumor, in corresponding areas at immediate follow-up CT. Additional RF ablation or transcatheter arterial chemoembolization was performed in these tumors.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of power Doppler US with a microbubble contrast agent in HCCs treated with RF ablation correlated well with those of contrast-enhanced CT. Preliminary data suggest that contrast-enhanced power Doppler US can be a promising noninvasive technique for assessing therapeutic response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50, Ilwon-Dong, Kangnam-Ku, Seoul 135-710, Korea.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: H K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Paik
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Koh
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011134:Polysaccharides; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D018608:Ultrasonography, Doppler
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D011134:Polysaccharides; C059891:SHU 508