title: Poorly versus moderately differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma: vascularity assessment by computed tomographic hepatic angiography in correlation with histologically counted number of unpaired arteries.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Radiology, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. asayama@radiol.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yoshiki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Asayama
authors.forename: Kengo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshimitsu
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Irie
authors.forename: Yunosuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nishihara
authors.forename: Shinichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aishima
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tajima
authors.forename: Masakazu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hirakawa
authors.forename: Kousei
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishigami
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kakihara
authors.forename: Akinobu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Taketomi
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Honda
mesh_terms: 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*
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media