Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasonography for hepatocellular carcinoma

Accuracy of ultrasonography for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was examined. The subjects were 5339 patients who underwent ultrasonography of the upper abdomen, during the year 1980 at our hospital. Out of 5339, 113 cases were found to be hepatocellular carcinoma by a 3-year follow-up study, checking against the records of regional cancer registry. Diagnostic accuracy based on 6 months of follow-up was as follows: for identification of liver tumors, sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy were 94.9%, 98.7%, and 98.9% respectively; for diagnosis of HCC, sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy were 58.9%, 99.9%, and 99.3% respectively. In conclusion, the ability of ultrasonography to detect hepatocellular carcinoma is adequately high, and thus, ultrasonography can be employed as a diagnostic procedure for mass screening.