Color Doppler sonography in hepatocellular carcinoma

Sixteen patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were assessed with color Doppler sonography (CDS) for flow compared to normal hepatic parenchyma. Nine showed moderate increased flow, and two revealed marked increased flow. In most instances, the increased flow was peripheral. Color Doppler was also useful in assessing seven patients with portal vein invasion. In two instances, venous invasion was not detected on preliminary grayscale images. In another patient, hepatic venous invasion was suspected on grayscale images, but was shown to represent extrinsic compression only by color Doppler.