title: Poor sensitivity of sonography in detection of hepatocellular carcinoma in advanced liver cirrhosis: accuracy of pretransplantation sonography in 118 patients.
abstract: The objective of this study was to assess the detectability of hepatocellular carcinoma by sonography in advanced cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplantation. We retrospectively reviewed pretransplantation sonography in 118 consecutive patients with advanced liver cirrhosis. We assessed the detectability of hepatocellular carcinoma in relation to tumor size, location, total liver volume, and degree of sonographic heterogeneity of the liver parenchyma. On pathologic examination, 51 hepatocellular carcinomas were identified in 31 patients. Pretransplantation sonography depicted 14 of 51 (27%) hepatocellular carcinomas. Detectability was significantly affected according to tumor size ( p=0.0099), but there was no significant difference according to tumor location, liver volume, or degree of sonographic heterogeneity of the liver parenchyma. Our study suggests that sonography is not sufficiently sensitive to detect hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis. Tumor size is the only factor influencing the detectability of hepatocellular carcinoma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology and Center for Imaging Science, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Ilwon-dong, 135-710, Kangnam-ku, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Wei Chiang
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jae Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.forename: Cheol Keun
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Min Ju
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seung Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Soon Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Won Jae
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hyo Keun
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Lim
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications*; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011300:Preoperative Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014463:Ultrasonography