title: Continuous dynamic registration of microvascularization of liver tumors with contrast-enhanced ultrasound.
abstract: Aim. To evaluate the diagnostic value of quantification of liver tumor microvascularization using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) measured continuously from the arterial phase to the late phase (3 minutes). Material and Methods. We present a retrospective analysis of 20 patients with malignant (n = 13) or benign (n = 7) liver tumors. The tumors had histopathologically been proven or clearly identified using contrast-enhanced reference imaging with either 1.5 T MRI (liver specific contrast medium) or triphase CT and follow-up. CEUS was performed using a multifrequency transducer (1-5 MHz) and a bolus injection of 2.4 mL sulphur hexafluoride microbubbles. A retrospective perfusion analysis was performed to determine TTP (time-to-peak), RBV (regional blood volume), RBF (regional blood flow), and Peak. Results. Statistics revealed a significant difference (P < 0.05) between benign and malignant tumors in the RBV, RBF, and Peak but not in TTP (P = 0.07). Receiver operating curves (ROC) were generated for RBV, RBF, Peak, and TTP with estimated ROC areas of 0.97, 0.96, 0.98, and 0.76, respectively. Conclusion. RBV, RBF, and Peak continuously measured over a determined time period of 3 minutes could be of valuable support in differentiating malignant from benign liver tumors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Medical Center of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lukas Philipp
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2498-920X
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Medical Center of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Benedikt
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2291-9494
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pregler
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Medical Center of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Wiesinger
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Medical Center of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stroszczynski
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Medical Center of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wiggermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Medical Center of Regensburg, Franz-Josef-Strauß-Allee 11, 93053 Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Ernst-Michael
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Jung