title: Early-stage hepatocellular carcinoma: the high accuracy of real-time contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in the assessment of response to percutaneous treatment.
abstract: Image-guided tumor ablation has a major role in the therapeutic management of hepatocellular carcinoma and the assessment of the efficacy of percutaneous ablation is crucial for the management of cirrhotic patients. Contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) is extremely sensitive in detecting the intratumoral microvasculature in real time, with the same sensitivity in the detection of residual HCC as CT. CEUS has some advantages. It can be used before and during the ablative procedure as a guide for percutaneous needle placement. Moreover, CEUS can be performed almost immediately after ablation to determine whether the tumor has been completely ablated or needs additional treatment that can be performed in the same session, improving the cost-effectiveness of the treatment.
authors: Imaging Diagnosis Center, Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain. cnicolau@clinic.ub.es
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Nicolau
authors: Ramon
authors: R
authors: Vilana
authors: Luis
authors: L
authors: Bianchi
authors: Concepcio
authors: C
authors: Brú
mesh_terms: D006528:Carcinoma, Hepatocellular / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D017115:Catheter Ablation; D003287:Contrast Media; D006801:Humans; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D018084:Ultrasonography, Interventional
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media