[Color Doppler flow imaging in gallbladder tumors]

Thirty patients (22 male, 8 female, age range 25-83) with gallbladder (GB) masses or thickened GB wall found by real-time sonography were studied by duplex and color doppler ultrasonography. All the patients were confirmed pathologically after surgery. Seven of 8 patients with primary GB malignancy (adenocarcinoma 7, malignant fibrous histiocytoma 1) showed high velocity arterial blood flow signal (VABFS) in the tumor masses. No VABFS was observed in 10 patients (metastatic adenocarcinoma 3, adenoma 5, polyps 2). All the 10 patients with primary GB carcinoma (masses 8, wall thickening 2) showed high VABFS in the GB wall. In contrast, no VABFS was found in the GB wall in 3 patients with metastatic GB carcinoma. In 17 patients with benign GB lesion (adenoma 5, polyps 2, xanthogranuloma 2, chronic cholecystitis 6, subacute cholecystitis 2), only 5 (polyps 1, xanthogranuloma 1, chronic cholecystitis 1, subacute cholecystitis 2) demonstrated low VABFS. High VABFS in the GB masses or GB wall, a significant feature of primary GB carcinoma, is helpful in differentiating primary GB carcinoma from metastatic and benign GB lesion.