Metastatic hepatic neoplasms: angiographic features of portal vein involvement

Hepatic metastases produce a spectrum of angiographic alterations of the portal vein that mimicks that of primary liver neoplasms. In 11 patients with varied primary malignancies, hepatic arteriograms revealed seven instances of opacification of the portal vein from arterioportal shunting, two cases of intraluminal tumor thrombus, and two cases with intrahepatic portal vein occlusion. Another patient with liver metastases developed an arterioportal fistula following percutaneous liver biopsy. Although uncommon, metastatic involvement of the portal vein is not necessarily indicative of a poor prognosis since one patient's arterioportal shunting resolved following intraarterial chemotherapy infusion and tumor regression.