title: CT-gastrography for early gastric cancer visualized by wall-carving technique using contrast-enhanced MDCT for portal phase.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The wall-carving (WC) imaging technique is used to evaluate early gastric cancer using multidetector row computed tomography (MDCT) image data for only the arterial phase. Our purpose was to investigate if WC images derived from portal phase MDCT images can enhance the visualization of early gastric cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fourteen consecutive patients (average age/age range (years) = 75.8/61 to 86; male/female = 9/5) were enrolled. They were diagnosed with early gastric cancer and underwent contrast-enhanced MDCT before treatment. WC images of the arterial and portal phases were created from images scanned by 64-detector-row MDCT 40 and 60 seconds after the initiation of the contrast material injection, respectively. The correlation between the detection rates of lesions in the WC images and pathological findings was investigated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Totals of 71.4% (10/14) of arterial phase WC images and 71.4% (10/14) of portal phase WC images showed lesions. The imaging ability improved to 85.7% (12/14) when the two sets of images were combined. Well-differentiated adenocarcinomas tended to be visualized better in WC images of any phases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  WC is an excellent image analysis technique for visualizing early gastric cancer lesions. The depiction rates were improved by using a combination of arterial and portal WC images. The scan timing after the contrast material injection should be carefully investigated to improve the detection rate of lesions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University 5-1-1, Nabeshima, Saga City, Saga Province 849-8501, Japan.
authors.forename: Isao
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kitano
authors.forename: Tomoyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.forename: Masanobu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mizuguchi
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nishihara
authors.forename: Yukiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Shinya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Azama
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.forename: Tetsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hirai
authors.forename: Yukari
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Takase
authors.forename: Liinxiang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Hirokazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Noshiro
authors.forename: Kazuma
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujimoto
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Irie
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D013270:Stomach / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*