Radiology, Vol 194, 113-118, Copyright © 1995 by Radiological Society of North America
Hepatocellular carcinoma: use of color Doppler US to evaluate response to treatment with percutaneous ethanol injection
R Lencioni, D Caramella and C Bartolozzi
Department of Radiology, University of Pisa, Italy.
PURPOSE: To determine the usefulness of color Doppler ultrasound (US) in
the evaluation of the response of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) to
percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-one
patients with 48 lesions 2-5 cm in diameter underwent color Doppler US
before and after PEI. Computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR)
imaging, and percutaneous biopsy were also performed to help establish the
outcome of therapy. RESULTS: Before treatment, color signals with an
arterial Doppler spectrum were seen in 44 of 48 lesions with a frequency
shift of 0.51-4.11 kHz (mean, 1.65 kHz). After PEI, 37 of these lesions
showed no color signal and were found to be necrotic at CT, MR imaging, and
biopsy. In six of seven lesions containing residual tumor, pulsatile flow
was still identified, although the frequency shift was significantly
decreased (P = .01). CONCLUSION: Color Doppler US proved useful in the
assessment of the therapeutic effect of PEI on HCC.
