Three-dimensional power Doppler sonography of tumor vascularity

The purpose of this study was to assess the value of routine clinical examination using three-dimensional power Doppler sonography of intratumoral blood flow. Twenty-two hepatocellular carcinomas, seven cases of hepatic metastasis, four hepatic hemangiomas, six renal cell carcinomas, two cases of hepatic focal nodular hyperplasia, and one case of splenic metastasis were included in the study. Three-dimensional images were reconstructed by maximum intensity projection method using cine-loop data on a built-in computer in a LOGIQ 500 and a LOGIQ 700 from GE Yokogawa Medical Systems. The three-dimensional images obtained were viewed multidirectionally on a monitor screen. Three-dimensional representations of intratumoral blood flow became available for all tumors approximately 5 s to 30 s after scanning. In every case, the entire vasculature of the tumor was appreciated more easily from three-dimensional images than from cross-sectional two-dimensional images. These three-dimensional images of intratumoral blood flows corresponded to the tumor vessels that could be visualized by angiography at the early arterial phase. Differential diagnosis of hepatic tumors based on distinct difference in their intratumoral vascular structures was performed. Our results suggest that three-dimensional power Doppler sonography can be used for routine clinical examination of tumor vascularity and may provide improved diagnostic information.