[Modern, non-invasive diagnostic of focal liver lesions]

Ultrasonography and computed tomography are widely used methods in the detection and differentiation of focal liver lesions although they do not allow tumor characterization and the determination of malignancy in many cases. The Multislice-CT is the most reliable method for the detection of smallest lesions however, for more detailed analyses of morphological characteristics and assessment of potential malignancy other diagnostic procedures have to be applied. Based on histological changes MRI with tissue specific contrast media and specific scintigrafic procedures are valuable. Thus, the combination of ultrasonography and magnetic imaging could provide the ideal diagnostic pathway to determine the dignity, but also to differentiate the various benign tumors.