Ultrasonographic studies in hepatic neoplasms: patterns and comparisons with radiological contrast studies

A prospective blind study of 100 patients with hepatic neoplasms was performed using the grey-scale linear-array ultrasonographic technique. Seventy-four patients had hepatocellular carcinoma, eight had cholangiocarcinoma, 17 had metastases and one had haemangiosarcoma. The overall diagnostic accuracy was 96%, comparable to the 98% diagnostic accuracy of other radiological studies which were performed in 70 patients. The sites and extent of the lesions and the state of the portal system were identical in both the ultrasonographic and radiological contrast studies. No false positives were found in 254 patients who had ultrasonography of the liver for non-maligant disorders during the period of study. We conclude that linear-array ultrasonography is a simple, sensitive, specific and non-invasive procedure for the investigation of suspected hepatic neoplasms and is useful in assessing operability.