Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound to Monitor Early Recurrence of Primary Hepatocellular Carcinoma after Curative Treatment

Figure 2

Results for a male patient, aged 41, in whom HCC recurred at 1 year after surgery. (a) Conventional ultrasound showed a low echogenic nodule (0.9 × 1.2 cm) in the lower lobe of the right liver. (b) CDFI showed no color flow signal around or inside the nodule. (c, d) CEUS showed rapid, uniform enhancement in the arterial phase. (e, f) CEUS showed isoenhancement during the portal vein and delayed phases. This CEUS expression pattern was “fast-in, slow-out”. (g) MRI revealed no abnormal enhancement lesions in the arterial phase. (h) MRI showed a slightly lower signal nodule in the lower right segment of the liver in the hepatobiliary phase, and the nodules showed no difference from MRI performed 3 months before. Nodules were suspected of being liver cirrhosis. (i) Hematoxylin-eosin staining of pathology biopsy revealed highly differentiated HCC.

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