title: Preoperative assessment of hilar cholangiocarcinoma using multidetector-row CT: correlation with histopathological findings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our aim was to investigate the diagnostic reliability of multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) for preoperative assessment of local tumoral spread in hilar cholangiocarcinoma. MATEIRALS AND METHODS: Thirteen of 30 consecutive patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma who underwent surgery, excluding 17 patients who underwent biliary drainage or preoperative portal embolization, were retrospectively evaluated. Using MDCT systems of 4 detector rows or 16 detector rows, plain and dynamic contrast-enhanced images of three phases were obtained. Extent of tumor spread and lymph node metastasis were assessed with MDCT and compared with histopathological findings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Bismuth-Corlette classification of hilar cholangiocarcinoma with MDCT were type I, 1 patient; type IIIa, 3 patients; type IIIb, 4 patients; and type IV, 5 patients; those with histopathological findings were type I, 1 patient; type IIIa, 2 patients; type IIIb, 4 patients; and type IV, 6 patients. One patient diagnosed as type IIIa with MDCT was pathologically diagnosed as type IV. Accuracy of MDCT in tumoral spread was 92.3%, although that of lymph node metastasis was 54%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MDCT is likely to play an important role in evaluation of focal lesion spread especially in intrapancreatic tumor invasion, although a greater number of cohort cases are necessary to clearly define its role.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan. watadat-tky@umin.net
authors.forename: Takeyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Watadani
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akahane
authors.forename: Takeharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.forename: Kuni
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ohtomo