Diagnostic performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound and enhanced magnetic resonance for breast nodules

In the current study, we sought to evaluate the diagnostic efficacies of conventional ultrasound（US）, contrastenhanced US（CEUS）, combined US and CEUS and magnetic resonance imaging（MRI） in detecting focal solid breast lesions. Totally 117 patients with 120 BI-RADS category 4A-5 breast lesions were evaluated by conventional US and CEUS, and MRI, respectively. SonoVue was used as contrast agent in CEUS and injected as an intravenous bolus; nodule scan was performed 4 minutes after bolus injection. A specific sonographic quantification software was used to obtain color-coded maps of perfusion parameters for the investigated lesion, namely the time-intensity curve.The pattern of contrast enhancement and related indexes regarding the time-intensity curve were used to describe the lesions, comparatively with pathological results. Histopathologic examination revealed 46 benign and 74 malignant lesions. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of US in detecting malignant breast lesions were 90.14%, 95.92%, and 92.52%, respectively. Meanwhile, CE-MRI showed sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 88.73%, 95.92%, and91.67%, respectively. The area under the ROC curve for combined US and CEUS in discriminating benign from malignant breast lesions was 0.936, while that of MRI was 0.923, with no significant difference between them, as well as among groups. The time-intensity curve of malignant hypervascular fibroadenoma and papillary lesions mostly showed a fast-in/fast-out pattern, with no good correlation between them（kappa 〈0.20）. In conclusion, the combined use of conventional US and CEUS displays good agreement with MRI in differentiating benign from malignant breast lesions.

Dynamic contrast enhanced ultrasound in differential diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND Non-invasive differential diagnosis between hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC)and other liver cancer(i.e.cholangiocarcinoma or metastasis)is highly challenging and definitive diagnosis still relies on histological exam.The patterns of enhancement and wash-out of liver nodules can be used to stratify the risk of malignancy only in cirrhotic patients and HCC frequently shows atypical features.Dynamic contrast-enhanced ultrasound(DCEUS)with standardized software could help to overcome these obstacles,providing functional and quantitative parameters and potentially improving accuracy in the evaluation of tumor perfusion.AIM To explore clinical evidence regarding the application of DCEUS in the differential diagnosis of liver nodules.METHODS A comprehensive literature search of clinical studies was performed to identify the parameters of DCEUS that could relate to histological diagnosis.In accordance with the study protocol,a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the evidence was planned.RESULTS Rise time was significantly higher in HCC patients with a standardized mean difference(SMD)of 0.83(95%CI:0.48-1.18).Similarly,other statistically significant parameters were mean transit time local with a SMD of 0.73(95%CI:0.20-1.27),peak enhancement with a SMD of 0.37(95%CI:0.03-0.70),area wash-in area under the curve with a SMD of 0.47(95%CI:0.13-0.81),wash-out area under the curve with a SMD of 0.55(95%CI:0.21-0.89)and wash-in and wash-out area under the curve with SMD of 0.51(95%CI:0.17-0.85).SMD resulted not significant in fall time and wash-in rate,but the latter presented a trend towards greater values in HCC compared to intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma.CONCLUSION DCEUS could improve non-invasive diagnosis of HCC,leading to less liver biopsy and early treatment.This quantitative analysis needs to be applied on larger cohorts to confirm these preliminary results.

Dynamic contrast enhanced ultrasound in gastrointestinal diseases:A current trend or an indispensable tool?

Contrast enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)has been widely implemented in clinical practice because of the enormous quantity of information it provides,along with its low cost,reproducibility,minimal invasiveness,and safety of the secondgeneration ultrasound contrast agents.To overcome the limitation of CEUS given by the subjective evaluation of the contrast enhancement behaviour,quantitative analysis of contrast kinetics with generation of time-intensity curves has been introduced in recent years.The quantification of perfusion parameters[named as dynamic-CEUS(D-CEUS)]has several applications in gastrointestinal neoplastic and inflammatory disorders.However,the limited availability of large studies and the heterogeneity of the technologies employed have precluded the standardisation of D-CEUS,which potentially represents a valuable tool for clinical practice in management of gastrointestinal diseases.In this article,we reviewed the evidence exploring the application of D-CEUS in gastrointestinal diseases,with a special focus on liver,pancreas,and inflammatory bowel diseases.

Usefulness of contrast enhanced ultrasound in monitoring therapeutic response after hepatocellular carcinoma treatment

In the last years, the development in the oncology field has been huge and rapid. In particular, the evaluation of response to anti-tumour treatments has been being object of intense research, producing significant changes. Response assessment after therapy in solid neoplasias has always used radiological imaging techniques, with tumour size reduction representing a presumed therapeutic efficacy. However, with the introduction of anti-angiogenetic drugs the evaluation of tumour size has become unsuitable because some tumours, under treatment, show only tumour perfusion changes rather than lesion shrinkage. Between different imaging techniques with contrast-enhancement, contrastenhanced ultrasound(CEUS) and, in particular, dynamic CEUS have arisen as a promising and non-invasive device for monitoring cancer treatments. Moreover, the introduction of perfusion software has even more refined the technique since it is able to provide quantitative parameters related to blood flow and blood volume that can be associated with tumour response and clinical outcome such as the progression free survival and the overall survival. Here, we give an overview of the current status of CEUS in monitoring hepatocellular carcinoma response to different kind of treatments.

Quantitative evaluation of acute renal failure in rabbits with contrast-enhanced ultrasound

Background Assessment of perfusion in the early period of acute renal failure （ARF） is important,and can not be made by conventional ultrasound.The aim of this study was to prospectively test in a rabbit ARF model whether real-time contrast-enhanced ultrasound （CEUS） can quantitatively evaluate the hemodynamic changes of renal cortex in the early period.Methods The model of ARF was induced in 30 healthy New Zealand white rabbits （2.5-3.0 kg）,by intramuscular injection of 50% glycerin solution （12 ml/kg）.CEUS were performed on right kidneys before,6 and 24 hours after glycerin injection.CEUS quantitative indexes were measured in renal cortex using QLAB software.Comparisons between different stages were performed using paired t test.The sensitivity of CEUS in diagnosing ARF was compared with blood serum urea nitrogen （BUN）,serum creatinine （SCr） level and color Doppler flow imaging （CDFI）.Results Among quantitative indexes,time to peak （TTP） and area under curve （AUC） increased significantly from （5.86±2.57） seconds and （124.4±46.7） dB.s before glycerin injection to （7.66±2.05） seconds and （288.1±64.9） dB.s 6 hours after injection （P 〈0.05）.Slope rate of ascending curve （A） and descending curve （α） decreased slightly from （3.00±1.22） dB/s and （0.19±0.15） 1/s to （2.80±1.45） dB.s and （0.09±0.02） 1/s （P 〈0.05）.Twenty-four hours later,only AUC increased significantly from （124.4±46.7） dB.s to （466.2±52.2） dB.s （P〈0.05）.Conclusion Quantitative indexes of CEUS might be useful in predicting the hemodynamic changes of renal cortex in the early six hours of ARF model.

Diagnosis of bowel diseases:The role of imaging and ultrasonography

Examinations with a visualisation of the anatomy and pathology of the gastrointestinal(GI) tract are often necessary for the diagnosis of GI diseases.Traditional radiology played a crucial role for many years.Endoscopy,despite some limitations,remains the main technique in the differential diagnosis and treatment of GI diseases.In the last decades,the introduction of,and advances in,non-invasive cross-sectional imaging modalities,including ultrasound(US),computed tomography(CT),positron-emission tomography(PET),and magnetic resonance imaging,as well as improvements in the resolution of imaging data,the acquisition of 3D images,and the introduction of contrast-enhancement,have modified the approach to the examination of the GI tract.Moreover,additional co-registration techniques,such as PET-CT and PET-MRI,allow multimodal data acquisition with better sensitivity and specificity in the study of tissue pathology.US has had a growing role in the development and application of the techniques for diagnosis and management of GI diseases because it is inexpensive,non-invasive,and more comfortable for the patient,and it has sufficient diagnostic accuracy toprovide the clinician with image data of high temporal and spatial resolution.Moreover,Doppler and contrastenhanced ultrasound(CEUS) add important information about blood flow.This article provides a general review of the current literature regarding imaging modalities used for the evaluation of bowel diseases,highlighting the role of US and recent developments in CEUS.

Change in arterial tumor perfusion is an early biomarker of lenvatinib efficacy in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND Lenvatinib is one of the first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors used for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). In the present study, we evaluated the potential of early changes in the time-intensity curve(TIC) of arterial phase on contrastenhanced ultrasound(CEUS) as early imaging biomarkers of lenvatinib efficacy.AIM To evaluate the potential of the early changes in the TIC of CEUS as early imaging biomarkers of lenvatinib efficacy in patients with unresectable HCC.METHODS We analyzed 20 consecutive patients with unresectable HCC treated with lenvatinib from March to November 2018. Tumor response at 8 wk was assessed by computed tomography using the modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors(m RECIST). CEUS was performed at baseline before treatment(Day 0) and on day 7(Day 7), and the images were analyzed in the arterial phase for 20 seconds after the contrast agent arrived at the target tumor. Three perfusion parameters were extracted from the TICs: the slope of wash-in(Slope),time to peak(TTP) intensity, and the total area under the curve(AUC) during wash-in. The rate of change in the TIC parameters between Day 0 and Day 7 was compared between treatment responders and non-responders based on m RECIST.RESULTS The rate of change for all TIC parameters showed significant differences between the responders(n = 9) and non-responders(n = 11)(Slope, P = 0.025; TTP, P =0.004; and AUC, P = 0.0003). The area under the receiver operating curve values for slope, TTP, and AUC for the prediction of responders were 0.805, 0.869, and0.939, respectively.CONCLUSION CEUS may be useful for the early prediction of tumor response to lenvatinib therapy in patients with unresectable HCC.