Poorly versus moderately differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma: vascularity assessment by computed tomographic hepatic angiography in correlation with histologically counted number of unpaired arteries.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the vascularity of moderately and poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma (mHCC and pHCC, respectively) as observed on and depicted by computed tomography during hepatic angiography and to perform pathological correlation.


METHODS
Eighty-seven consecutive patients with 89 hepatocellular carcinomas (61 mHCCs and 28 pHCCs) were surgically resected in our hospital. The degree of contrast enhancement on computed tomography during hepatic angiography of the tumors was classified into high attenuation (H), isoattenuation (I), and low attenuation (L). We also examined hepatocellular carcinomas measuring less than 4 cm in diameter. Pathologically, the number of unpaired arteries in the tumors was determined (x200 magnification).


RESULTS
The number of mHCC and pHCC in each degree of enhancement (H/I/L) was 59:1:1 and 19:6:3, respectively. The number of mHCC and pHCC measuring less than 4 cm without portal invasion was 48 and 15, respectively; the number of these tumors in each degree of enhancement (H/I/L) was 47:1:0 and 11:3:1, respectively. The mean number of unpaired arteries was 8.9 +/- 4.4 in mHCC and 5.2 +/- 4.3 in pHCC, respectively. All results were statistically significant (P < 0.01).


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicated that the arterial blood supply of pHCC was lower than that of mHCC.
Asayama
Yoshiki
Y
Department of Clinical Radiology, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. asayama@radiol.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
Yoshimitsu
Kengo
K
Irie
Hiroyuki
H
Nishihara
Yunosuke
Y
Aishima
Shinichi
S
Tajima
Tsuyoshi
T
Hirakawa
Masakazu
M
Ishigami
Kousei
K
Kakihara
Daisuke
D
Taketomi
Akinobu
A
Honda
Hiroshi
H
D000368:Aged; D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D006499:Hepatic Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000145:classification / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009389:Neovascularization, Pathologic / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015588:Observer Variation; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
D003287:Contrast Media