Clinical value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in improving diagnostic accuracy rate of transthoracic biopsy of anteriormedial mediastinal lesions

Objective： To evaluate the clinical value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound（CEUS） in transthoracic biopsy of anterior-medial mediastinal lesions.Methods： A total of 123 patients with anterior or middle mediastinum lesions required ultrasound guided transthoracic biopsy for pathological diagnosis. Among them, 72 patients received CEUS examinations before biopsy. After CEUS, 8 patients were excluded from biopsy and the rest 64 patients underwent biopsy（CEUS group）. During the same period, 51 patients received biopsy without CEUS examination（US group）. The ultrasonography characteristics, the number of biopsy puncture attempts, diagnostic accuracy rate and the incidence of complications were recorded and compared between the two groups.Results： A large portion of necrosis area or superficial large vessels was found in 8 patients, so the biopsy was cancelled. The internal necrosis was demonstrated in 43.8% of the lesions in CEUS group and in 11.8% of US group（P0.001）. For thymic carcinoma, CEUS increased the detection rate of internal necrosis and pericardial effusion than conventional ultrasound（62.5% vs. 18.8%, P=0.012; 56.3% vs. 12.5%, P=0.023）. The average number of punctures in CEUS group and US group was 2.36±0.70 and 2.21±0.51 times, respectively（P0.05）. The diagnostic accuracy rate of biopsy in CEUS group（96.9%, 62/64） was significantly higher than that in US group（84.3%, 43/51）（P=0.022）. In US group, 2 patients suffered from mediastinal bleeding（3.9%）, while no major complications occurred in CEUS group.Conclusions： CEUS examination provided important information before transthoracic mediastinum biopsy and improved diagnostic accuracy rate in biopsy of anterior and middle mediastinum lesions than conventional ultrasound.

Study on correlation between pathology and the contrast-enhanced ultrasound characteristics of primary liver cancer

Objective:The aim of this study was to evaluate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS) for blood perfusion of primary liver cancer(PHC) and investigate the correlation between microvascular architecture of PHC and pathological differentiation.Methods:Two hundred and seventy-eight patients with 329 PHC lesions were examined by CEUS and analysised the contrast enhancement pattern and correlation with pathology.Results:1.CEUS patterns of PHC:71.7%(236/329) showed "swift enhancement in the arterial phase and swift expurgation in the portal phase",13.4%(44/329) for as "swift enhancement and slow expurgation",7.3%(24/329) as "swift enhancement and simultaneity expurgation",4.3%(14/329) for the "slow enhancement and swift expurgation",2.1%(7/329) as "slow enhancement and expurgation",1.2%(4/329) as "not fast forward".2.90.3%(297/329) of PHC lesions were hypervascular liver cancer and 9.7%(32/329) were hypovascular.Hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC) were hypervascular lesions and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma(ICC) were hypovascular lesions.3.PHC size had a significant difference on the contrast media purfusion pattern(P < 0.05),but not on the contrast media expurgation pattern.4.The accuracy of PHC by CEUS were 97.3% and compared to pathology,9 lesions of PHC were misdiagnosed.Conclusion:CEUS can show the different blood perfusion characteristics of PHC with closely related to pathological differentiation,which be valuable to diagnose liver cancer.

Advantages of contrast-enhanced ultrasound in the localization and diagnostics of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer

Sentinel lymph nodes(SLNs)are the first station of lymph nodes that extend from the breast tumor to the axillary lymphatic drainage.The pathological status of these LNs can predict that of the entire axillary lymph node.Therefore,the accurate identification of SLNs is necessary for sentinel lymph node biopsy(SLNB)to replace axillary lymph node dissection(ALND).The quality of life and prognosis of breast cancer patients are related to proper surgical treatment after the precise identification of SLNs.Some of the SLN tracers that have been identified include radioisotope,nano-carbon,indocyanine green(ICG),and methylene blue(MB).However,these tracers have certain limitations,such as pigmentation,radiation dangers,and the requirement for costly detection equipment.Ultrasound contrast agents(UCAs)have good specificity and sensitivity,and thus can compensate for some shortcomings of the mentioned tracers.This technique is also being applied to SLNB in patients with breast cancer,and can even provide an initial judgment on SLN status.Contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)has the advantages of high distinguishability,simple operation,no radiation harm,low cost,and accurate localization;therefore,it is expected to replace the traditional biopsy methods.In addition,it can significantly enhance the accuracy of SLN localization and shorten the operation time.

超声造影对甲状腺可疑结节的定性诊断价值

目的探讨超声造影对不同病理类型甲状腺可疑结节的诊断价值。方法对358例患者424个甲状腺结节行超声造影检查,给予超声造影后定性诊断结果,以术后病理结果为金标准,对超声造影诊断结果与病理结果进行对比,应用χ2检验,对比良、恶性结节不同病理类型的诊断有无差异。结果 (1)超声造影对甲状腺结节良恶性诊断的灵敏度85.3%,特异度为65.4%,阳性预测值为91.6%,阴性预测值为50.0%,诊断符合率为81.6%。(2)恶性结节中甲状腺乳头状癌超声造影诊断符合率为92.2%,误诊率为7.8%;甲状腺微小乳头状癌诊断符合率为91.4%,误诊率为8.6%;结甲并乳头状癌诊断符合率为53.8%,误诊率为46.2%;桥本氏甲状腺炎并乳头状癌诊断符合率为72.7%,误诊率为27.3%,χ2=45.700,不同病理类型甲状腺恶性结节的超声造影诊断有显著差异,并且其差异具有统计学意义(P<0.01)。(3)良性结节中结节性甲状腺肿诊断符合率为66.7%,误诊率为33.3%;结节性甲状腺肿合并胶原变、纤维化或乳头状增生诊断符合率为71.7%,误诊率28.3%;桥本氏甲状腺炎诊断符合率为42.9%,误诊率为57.1%,χ2值为3.973,不同病理类型甲状腺良性结节的超声造影诊断的差异不具有统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论超声造影对于甲状腺乳头状癌、微小乳头状癌及桥本背景下的乳头状癌诊断符合率较高,误诊率较低,对于结甲合并乳头状癌的诊断符合率较低,误诊率较高,不同病理类型甲状腺良性结节的超声造影诊断无明显差异。

Clinical diagnosis and treatment of alpha-fetoprotein-negative small hepatic lesions

Objective： We examined 103 cases over the last five years and discussed diagnosis and treatment of alpha- fetoprotein （AFP）-negative small hepatic lesions. Background： Small hepatic lesions （less than 2 cm in diameter） usually have no typical imaging characteristics and therefore are difficult to diagnose, especially when AFP tests provide a negative result. Methods： A total of 103 patients with AFP-negative small hepatic lesions from January 2003 to December 2008 were retrospectively reviewed. Differential diagnosis was performed by digital subtraction angiography （DSA）, dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging （DCE-MRI）, contrast-enhanced ultrasound （CEUS）, or positron emission tomography-computed tomography （PET-CT） based on the multiplicity of lesions. Ninety-four patients with suspected cancers underwent partial hepatectomy. Clinical data were collected from hospital records and follow-up questionnaires. Results： Hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） diagnostic sensitivity of DSA, DCE-MRI, CEUS and PET-CT was 88.2%, 93.9%, 88.9% and 88.9%, respectively. The surgery-related complication rate was 6.4%. Prognosis was good, with 1- and 3-year survival rates of 98.8% and 76.1%, respectively. Conclusions： DSA, DCE-MRI, CEUS and PET-CT are valuable for diagnosis of small hepatic lesions. Partial hepatectomy is a preferred surgical procedure. Surgery for small liver cancers usually has little risk and good prognosis, therefore it can be actively applied in suspected HCC cases.

超声造影在肝癌肝移植术后肝转移癌射频消融治疗之中的应用

目的通过临床总结,评价超声造影(CEUS)在射频消融治疗肝癌肝移植术后肝转移癌中应用的优点。方法采用超声造影辅助诊断定位经皮穿刺射频消融(RFA)治疗肝癌肝移植术后2～12月肝转移癌灶12例,癌灶直径12 mm～45 mm,每个病灶通过超声造影诊断定位进行RFA 1～2次,术后通过超声造影及增强CT评价疗效。结果11例病灶术后1月后复查,示全部消融,1例较大病灶治疗后有部分残余,行再次射频,1月后复查病灶坏死。结论超声造影应用于RFA治疗肝癌肝移植术后肝转移癌发现早,诊断早,定位准确,效果好,操作简便易行,微创无严重并发症,进一步提高了超声引导下RFA的准确率和疗效。