Liver metastases from rectal carcinoma: disease progression during chemotherapy despite loss of arterial-phase hypervascularity on real-time contrast-enhanced harmonic sonography at low acoustic energy.
We used a new sonographic technique, real-time contrast-enhanced harmonic sonography at low acoustic energy, to evaluate liver perfusion and liver metastases from colorectal cancer in a 73-year-old woman after chemotherapy. After 6 weeks of chemotherapy, liver metastases that had been clearly visible on conventional sonography before chemotherapy were no longer detectable on conventional sonography but were still evident on contrast-enhanced sonography. At about 6 months after initiation of chemotherapy, the lesions were all visible again on conventional sonography and had become significantly larger, although some no longer showed contrast enhancement during the arterial phase. In this case, changes in arterial perfusion over time did not parallel the response of liver metastases to chemotherapy.
Piscaglia
Fabio
F
Division of Internal Medicine, University of Bologna, Azienda Ospedaliera S. Orsola-Malpighi, via Albertoni 15, 40138 Bologna, Italy.
Gaiani
Stefano
S
Tamberi
Stefano
S
Celli
Natascia
N
Cecilioni
Laura
L
Gramantieri
Laura
L
Bolondi
Luigi
L
D000162:Acoustics; D000368:Aged; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D006499:Hepatic Artery / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000556:secondary*; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods