High-intensity focused ultrasound treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma.

High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) represents a method employing high-intensity ultrasound energy to induce thermal ablation of cancerous cells. Regarded as minimally invasive, HIFU treatment offers reduced risk of complications and abbreviated recovery periods compared to surgical interventions. Although predominantly utilized in the management of pancreatic malignancies, ongoing investigations are exploring its viability in addressing hepatocellular carcinoma. Although HIFU may be employed independently in hepatocellular carcinoma treatment, its potential as a synergistic component within combination therapies is under scrutiny. Moreover, emerging research endeavors have explored the multifaceted utility of HIFU, encompassing not only localized thermal ablation but also functionalities like drug delivery and gene therapy, augmenting its therapeutic efficacy. Despite the promising outlook of HIFU in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma, existing constraints and challenges persist. Continued research initiatives and technological innovations are anticipated to propel HIFU into a pivotal and established therapeutic modality in the foreseeable future. This article provides an overview of HIFU therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma and presents a comprehensive update on its current clinical status.

Favorable liver and skeletal muscle changes in patients with MASLD and T2DM receiving glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist: A prospective cohort study.

To investigate changes in skeletal muscle mass and fat fraction in patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) undergoing treatment with Semaglutide for 6months. This single-arm pilot study included 21 patients with MASLD who received semaglutide for T2DM. Body weight, metabolic parameters, liver enzymes, fibrosis markers, skeletal muscle index (cm2/m2), and fat fraction (%) at the L3 level using the two-point Dixon method on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), as well as liver steatosis and liver stiffness assessed using MRI-based proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) and MR elastography, respectively, were prospectively examined before and 6 months after semaglutide administration. The mean age of the patients was 53 years and 47.6% were females. The median liver steatosis-fraction (%) and skeletal muscle steatosis-fraction values (%) significantly decreased (22.0 vs 12.0; P = .0014) and (12.8 vs 9.9; P = .0416) at baseline and 6 months, respectively, while maintaining muscle mass during treatment. Semaglutide also dramatically reduced hemoglobin A1c (%) (6.8 vs 5.8, P = .0003), AST (IU/L) (54 vs 26, P < .0001), ALT (IU/L) (80 vs 34, P = .0004), and γ-GTP (IU/L) levels (64 vs 34, P = .0007). Although not statistically significant, Body weight (kg) (79.9 vs 77.4), body mass index (BMI) (kg/m2) (28.9 vs 27.6), and liver stiffness (kPa) (28.9 vs 27.6) showed a decreasing trend. Fibrosis markers such as M2BPGi, type IV collagen, and skeletal muscle area did not differ. Semaglutide demonstrated favorable effects on liver and skeletal muscle steatosis, promoting improved liver function and diabetic status.

Principle of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography.

Sonazoid, an ultrasound contrast agent, has been covered by insurance in Japan since January 2007 for the diagnosis of hepatic mass lesions and is widely used for diagnosing not only primary liver cancer but also liver metastases such as those from breast cancer and colorectal cancer. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound for breast mass lesions has been covered by insurance since August 2012 after phase II and phase III clinical trials showed that the diagnostic performance was significantly superior to that of B-mode and contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. This paper describes the principles of imaging techniques in contrast-enhanced ultrasonography including the filter, pulse inversion, amplitude modulation, and amplitude-modulated pulse inversion methods. The pulse inversion method, which visualizes the second-harmonic component using the nonlinear scattering characteristics of the contrast agent, is widely used regardless of the contrast agent and target organ because of its high resolution. Sonazoid has a stiffer shell and requires a higher acoustic amplitude than Sonovue to generate nonlinear vibrations. The higher transmitted sound pressure generates more tissue harmonic components. Since pulse inversion allows visualization of the tissue harmonic components, amplitude modulation and amplitude-modulated pulse inversion, which include few tissue harmonic components, are primarily used. Amplitude modulation methods detect nonlinear signals from the contrast agent in the fundamental band. The mechanism of the amplitude modulation is considered to be changes in the echo signal's phase depending on the sound pressure. Since the tissue-derived component is minor in amplitude modulation methods, good contrast sensitivity can be obtained.

Severe hepatic steatosis promotes increased liver stiffness in the early stages of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: The predictors of progression from steatosis to more advanced stages of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) remain unclear. We evaluated the association between the quantity of hepatic steatosis and longitudinal changes in liver stiffness measurements (LSMs) using magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in patients with MASLD. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed patients with MASLD who underwent at least two serial MRE and magnetic resonance imaging-based proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) examinations at least 1 year apart. Fine-Gray competitive proportional hazard regression was used to identify LSM progression and regression factors. RESULTS: A total of 471 patients were enrolled. Factors linked to LSM progression were steatosis grade 3 (MRI-PDFF ≥17.1%, adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 2.597; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.483-4.547) and albumin-bilirubin grade 2 or 3 (aHR 2.790; 95% CI 1.284-6.091), while the only factor linked to LSM regression was % decrease rate of MRI-PDFF ≥5% (aHR 2.781; 95% CI 1.584-4.883). Steatosis grade 3 correlated with a higher incidence rate of LSM progression than steatosis grade 1 (MRI-PDFF <11.3%) in patients with LSM stage 0 (<2.5 kilopascal [kPa]), and a % annual decrease rate of MRI-PDFF ≥5% correlated with a higher incidence rate of LSM regression than that of MRI-PDFF >-5% and <5% in patients with LSM stage 1 or 2-4 (≥2.5 kPa). CONCLUSIONS: Severe hepatic steatosis was linked to significant LSM progression in patients with MASLD and low LSM (<2.5 kPa).

Advanced fibrosis leads to overestimation of steatosis with quantitative ultrasound in individuals without hepatic steatosis.

PURPOSE: The effect of hepatic fibrosis stage on quantitative ultrasound based on the attenuation coefficient (AC) for liver lipid quantification is controversial. The objective of this study was to determine how the degree of fibrosis assessed by magnetic resonance (MR) elastography affects AC based on the ultrasound-guided attenuation parameter according to the grade of hepatic steatosis, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived proton density fat fraction (MRIderived PDFF) as the reference standard. METHODS: Between February 2020 and April 2021, 982 patients with chronic liver disease who underwent AC and MRI-derived PDFF measurement as well as MR elastography were enrolled. Multiple regression was used to investigate whether AC was affected by the degree of liver stiffness. RESULTS: AC increased as liver stiffness progressed in 344 patients without hepatic steatosis (P=0.009). In multivariable analysis, AC was positively correlated with skin-capsule distance (P<0.001), MR elastography value (P=0.037), and MRI-derived PDFF (P<0.001) in patients without hepatic steatosis. In 52 of 982 patients (5%), the correlation between AC and MRIderived PDFF fell outside the 95% confidence interval for the regression line slope. Patients with MRI-derived PDFF lower than their AC (n=36) had higher fibrosis-4 scores, albumin-bilirubin scores, and MR elastography values than patients with MRI-derived PDFF greater than their AC (n=16; P=0.018, P=0.001, and P=0.011, respectively). CONCLUSION: AC is affected by liver fibrosis (MR elastography value ≥6.7 kPa) only in patients without hepatic steatosis (MRI-derived PDFF <5.2%). These values should be interpreted with caution in patients with advanced liver fibrosis.

Deep learning approach for discrimination of liver lesions using nine time-phase images of contrast-enhanced ultrasound.

PURPOSE: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) shows different enhancement patterns depending on the time after administration of the contrast agent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of liver nodule characterization using our proposed deep learning model with input of nine CEUS images. METHODS: A total of 181 liver lesions (48 benign, 78 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and 55 non-HCC malignant) were included in this prospective study. CEUS were performed using the contrast agent Sonazoid, and in addition to B-mode images before injection, image clips were stored every minute up to 10 min. A deep learning model was developed by arranging three ResNet50 transfer learning models in parallel. This proposed model allowed inputting up to nine datasets of different phases of CEUS and performing image augmentation of nine images synchronously. Using the results, the correct prediction rate, sensitivity, and specificity between "benign" and "malignant" cases were analyzed for each combination of the time phase. These accuracy values were also compared with the washout score judged by a human. RESULTS: The proposed model showed performance superior to the referential standard model when the dataset from B-mode to the 10-min images were used (sensitivity: 93.2%, specificity: 65.3%, average correct answer rate: 60.1%). It also maintained 90.2% sensitivity and 61.2% specificity even when the dataset was limited to 2 min after injection, and this accuracy was equivalent to or better than human scoring by experts. CONCLUSION: Our proposed model has the potential to identify tumor types earlier than the Kupffer phase, but at the same time, machine learning confirmed that Kupffer-phase Sonazoid images contain essential information for the classification of liver nodules.

Multivariable Quantitative US Parameters for Assessing Hepatic Steatosis.

Background Because of the global increase in the incidence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, the development of noninvasive, widely available, and highly accurate methods for assessing hepatic steatosis is necessary. Purpose To evaluate the performance of models with different combinations of quantitative US parameters for their ability to predict at least 5% steatosis in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) as defined using MRI proton density fat fraction (PDFF). Materials and Methods Patients with CLD were enrolled in this prospective multicenter study between February 2020 and April 2021. Integrated backscatter coefficient (IBSC), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and US-guided attenuation parameter (UGAP) were measured in all participants. Participant MRI PDFF value was used to define at least 5% steatosis. Four models based on different combinations of US parameters were created: model 1 (UGAP alone), model 2 (UGAP with IBSC), model 3 (UGAP with SNR), and model 4 (UGAP with IBSC and SNR). Diagnostic performance of all models was assessed using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The model was internally validated using 1000 bootstrap samples. Results A total of 582 participants were included in this study (median age, 64 years; IQR, 52-72 years; 274 female participants). There were 364 participants in the steatosis group and 218 in the nonsteatosis group. The AUC values for steatosis diagnosis in models 1-4 were 0.92, 0.93, 0.95, and 0.96, respectively. The C-indexes of models adjusted by the bootstrap method were 0.92, 0.93, 0.95, and 0.96, respectively. Compared with other models, models 3 and 4 demonstrated improved discrimination of at least 5% steatosis (P < .01). Conclusion A model built using the quantitative US parameters UGAP, IBSC, and SNR could accurately discriminate at least 5% steatosis in patients with CLD. © RSNA, 2023 Supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Han in this issue.

Indium chloride bone marrow scintigraphy for hepatic myelolipoma: A case report.

BACKGROUND: As hepatic myelolipoma is rarely encountered, its radiological diagnosis using ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is challenging. Hepatic myelolipoma is similar to fat-contained hepatic lesions seen in hepatocellular carcinoma and angiomyolipoma. Therefore, further development of techniques to diagnose hepatic myelolipoma is warranted. CASE SUMMARY: A 44-year-old obese man was found to have a hepatic lesion during his medical checkup. The lesion was 50 mm × 57 mm in size and was detected in segment 8 (S8) of the liver by US. The patient was diagnosed with hepatic lesion 20 years ago, but it was left unresolved. The patient had no symptoms, liver dysfunction, hepatitis virus antibody, or tumor marker elevation. Plain CT showed a well-defined lesion in S8 of the liver. The central and peripheral areas of the lesion primarily exhibited fat density and hypodensity, respectively. MRI revealed a capsule-like structure. Biopsy was performed to address the probability of hepatocellular carcinoma. The lesion was pathologically confirmed as a myelolipoma. Bone marrow scintigraphy performed using 111InCl3 revealed accumulation of the radiopharmaceutical in the soft tissue component, except in the fat-dominant part of the tumor, as well as in the surrounding liver parenchyma due to the presence of reticuloendothelial cells in the liver. CONCLUSION: This is the first report on the diagnosis of hepatic myelolipoma using 111InCl3 scintigraphy. The effectiveness of bone marrow scintigraphy for diagnosing hepatic myelolipoma might be limited. As radiopharmaceuticals accumulate in both hematopoietic and reticuloendothelial cells, the accumulation of radiopharmaceuticals in the lesion is obscure.

Modified CEUS LI-RADS using Sonazoid for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

This review outlines several modified versions of the contrast-enhanced ultrasonography Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (CEUS LI-RADS) that utilize Sonazoid. Furthermore, it discusses the advantages and challenges of diagnosing hepatocellular carcinoma using these guidelines, as well as the authors' expectations and opinions regarding the next CEUS LI-RADS version. It is possible that Sonazoid could be incorporated into the next version of CEUS LI-RADS.

Tumor steatosis and glutamine synthetase expression in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab therapy.

AIM: The anti-programmed death-ligand 1 antibody atezolizumab and vascular endothelial growth factor-neutralizing antibody bevacizumab in combination (Atezo + Bev) have become the first-line therapy in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Distinct types of tumor immune microenvironment (TIME) and their associations with specific molecular subclasses and driver gene mutations have been identified in HCC; however, these insights are mainly based on surgically resected early-stage tumors. The current study aimed to reveal the biology and TIME of advanced HCC and their significance in predicting clinical outcomes of Atezo + Bev therapy. METHODS: Thirty-three patients with advanced HCC who were scheduled for treatment with Atezo + Bev therapy were included in this study. Pretreatment tumor biopsy, pre- and posttreatment diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with nine b values (0-1500 s/mm2 ), and other clinicopathologic factors were analyzed. RESULTS: Compared with resectable HCC, advanced HCC was characterized by higher proliferative activity, a higher frequency of Wnt/ß-catenin-activated HCC, and lower lymphocytic infiltration. Prognostically, two metabolism-related factors, histopathologically determined tumor steatosis and/or glutamine synthetase (GS) expression, and MRI-determined tumor steatosis, were the most significant prognostic indicators for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival after Atezo + Bev therapy. Furthermore, changes in the pre- and posttreatment true diffusion coefficients on MRI, which might reflect changes in TIME after treatment, were significantly associated with better PFS. CONCLUSIONS: The biology and TIME of HCC were strikingly different in advanced HCC compared with those of surgically resected HCC. Two metabolism-related factors, pathologically determined tumor steatosis and/or GS expression, and MRI-determined tumor steatosis, were found to be the most significant prognostic indicators for Atezo + Bev therapy in advanced HCC.

Comparisons of Radiofrequency Ablation, Microwave Ablation, and Irreversible Electroporation by Using Propensity Score Analysis for Early Stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Despite the diversity of thermal ablations, such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and microwave ablation (MWA), and non-thermal ablation, such as irreversible electroporation (IRE) cross-comparisons of multiple ablative modalities for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treatment remain scarce. Thus, we investigated the therapeutic outcomes of different three ablation modalities in the treatment of early stage HCC. METHODS: A total of 322 consecutive patients with 366 HCCs (mean tumor size ± standard deviation: 1.7 ± 0.9 cm) who underwent RFA (n = 216, 59.0%), MWA (n = 91, 28.3%), or IRE (n = 15, 4.7%) were included. Local tumor progression (LTP) rates for LTP were compared among the three modalities. Propensity score-matched analysis was used to reduce selection bias. RESULTS: A significant difference in 2-year LTP rates between the IRE and RFA groups (IRE, 0.0% vs. RFA, 45.0%; p = 0.005) was found. There was no significant difference in 2-year LTP rates between the IRE and MWA groups (IRE, 0.0% vs. MWA, 25.0%; p = 0.103) as well as between the RFA and MWA groups (RFA, 18.2% vs. MWA, 20.6%; p = 0.586). CONCLUSION: IRE provides better local tumor control than RFA as a first-line therapeutic option for small perivascular HCC.

The usefulness of a newly developed full-core biopsy needle in liver biopsy.

AIM: To evaluate the usefulness and safety of a newly developed full-core biopsy needle. METHODS: We selected 149 patients who underwent percutaneous liver biopsy at our institution from February 2019 to April 2021. We excluded 35 patients with hepatic fibrosis stage F3 or higher, which made it histopathologically difficult to measure the number of complete portal triads. The patients were divided into two groups as follows: 62 cases with the 18-G conventional automated needle (TruCore needle: T needle), and 52 cases with the 18-G full-core needle (CorVocet needle: C needle). We measured the number of complete portal triads in the liver tissue specimens, and the sum of the length and width of the collected tissues. Moreover, we compared the number of session counts, fragmentations, and complications. RESULTS: The sum of the length and the width was 12.8 mm (11.2-14.3) and 15.9 mm (13.1-17.3; p < 0.001), and 0.68 mm (0.63-0.74) and 0.82 mm (0.78-0.90; p < 0.001) for the T needle and C needle, respectively. The number of complete portal triads and fragmentation was six (3-8) and 10 (6-13; p < 0.001), and one (1-10) and one (1-3; p < 0.001), for the T needle and C needle, respectively. There was one session count (1-2) in both groups; however, there were significantly higher cases of two sessions with the T needle than that with the C needle (p = 0.018). There were no serious adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with the conventional needles, the newly developed full-core needles enabled the acquisition of a larger amount of tissue sample in liver biopsy.

Efficacy of shear wave elastography for the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a clinical method used to evaluate liver hardness. In this study, we assessed its applicability in assessing the pancreas and its potential for diagnosing chronic pancreatitis. METHODS: We performed SWE on 59 patients who underwent abdominal ultrasound, and measured the computed tomography (CT) values of the pancreas. Patients were classified as having a normal pancreas (NP), early chronic pancreatitis (ECP), or chronic pancreatitis (CP). SW elasticity (SWe), SW dispersion (SWd), and CT values between groups were analyzed. RESULTS: SWe significantly differed between the CP and NP/ECP groups (NP vs CP; P = 0.001, ECP vs CP; P = 0.026,), while SWd showed a significant difference only between the NP and CP group (NP vs CP; P = 0.001). The CT values were significantly different between the CP and NP/ECP groups (NP vs CP; P = 0.0006, ECP vs CP; P = 0.0027). CONCLUSION: Pancreatic SWE and CT values were helpful in the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. SWd may reveal status changes in ECP.

The feasibility of superparamagnetic iron oxide-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for assessing liver lesions in patients with contraindications for iodine CT contrast media or gadolinium-based MR contrast media: a retrospective case-control study.

Background: The detection and characterization of liver lesions are problematic in patients with bronchial asthma, renal dysfunction, or a history of allergy to gadolinium-based magnetic resonance contrast media or iodine-computed tomography contrast media because these contrast media cannot be used. Hence, the information on the lesion vascularity cannot be obtained. Therefore, this retrospective case-control study evaluated the feasibility of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) in patients with one or more of these contraindications who underwent SPIO-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging for the assessment of liver lesions. Methods: Twenty-six patients with a total of 48 lesions were analyzed. SPIO was used in the case of all patients because each patient had at least one reason not to use iodine contrast or gadolinium-based contrast media. Additionally, all patients were subjected to the perfusion study. A total volume of 1.3 mL of SPIO was injected via the cubital vein at a rate of 3 mL per second, followed by 40 mL saline at the same speed. The scanning of the perfusion study was started 4 s after the beginning of superparamagnetic iron oxide injection and scanning took 50 s. Two radiologists independently evaluated whether the lesion was malignant or benign. Receiver operating characteristic analysis (ROC) was performed to determine the additional benefit of the perfusion study. Results: There were no adverse effects associated with SPIO. The area under the curve (AUC) value without perfusion study for observers 1 and 2 were 0.473 (P=0.794, 95% CI: 0.275-0.672) and 0.602 (P=0.305, 95% CI: 0.407-0.798), respectively, whereas the Az values with perfusion study for observers 1 and 2 were 0.782 (P=0.011, 95% CI: 0.565-0.998) and 0.784 (P=0.004, 95% CI: 0.591-0.977), respectively. Az value became significantly better when the perfusion study has added (P=0.001 and 0.012 by observers 1 and 2). Conclusions: SPIO can be used safely in patients with bronchial asthma, renal dysfunction, or a history of contrast media allergy. Furthermore, the diagnostic accuracy of SPIO was acceptable.

Comparison of modified CEUS LI-RADS with sonazoid and CT/MRI LI-RADS for diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM: To compare the diagnostic performance based on the modified CEUS Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS), which includes Kupffer-phase findings as a major imaging feature, with that of CT and MRI (CT/MRI) LI-RADS for liver nodules in patients at high risk of HCC. METHODS: A total of 120 patients with 120 nodules were included in this retrospective study. The median size of the lesions was 20.0 mm (interquartile range, 14.0-30.8 mm). Of these lesions, 90.0% (108 of 120) were confirmed as HCCs, 6.7% (8 of 120) were intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, 1.7% (2 of 120) were metastases, and 1.7% (2 of 120) were dysplastic nodules. All nodules were diagnosed histopathologically. Each nodule was categorized according to the modified CEUS LI-RADS and CT/MRI LI-RADS version 2018. The diagnostic performance and inter-modality agreement of each criterion was compared. RESULTS: The inter-modality agreement for the modified CEUS LI-RADS and CT/MRI LI-RADS was slight agreement (kappa = 0.139, p = 0.015). The diagnostic accuracies of HCCs for the modified CEUS LR-5 and CT/MRI LR-5 were 70.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 61.0%, 78.0%) versus 70.8% (95% CI: 61.8%, 78.8%) (p = 0.876), respectively. The diagnostic accuracies of non-HCC malignancies for the modified CEUS LR-M and CT/MRI LR-M were 84.2% (95% CI: 76.4%, 90.2%) versus 96.7% (95% CI: 91.7%, 99.1%) (p = 0.002), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic performance for HCCs on the modified CEUS LR-5 and CT/MRI LR-5 are comparable. In contrast, CT/MRI LR-M has better diagnostic performance for non-HCC malignancy than that of the modified CEUS LR-M.

Noninvasive Diagnosis of Hepatocellular Carcinoma on Sonazoid-Enhanced US: Value of the Kupffer Phase.

The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of Contrast-Enhanced US Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (CEUS LI-RADS) version 2017, which includes portal- and late-phase washout as a major imaging feature, with that of modified CEUS LI-RADS, which includes Kupffer-phase findings as a major imaging feature. Participants at risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with treatment-naïve hepatic lesions (≥1 cm) were recruited and underwent Sonazoid-enhanced US. Arterial phase hyperenhancement (APHE), washout time, and echogenicity in the Kupffer phase were evaluated using both criteria. The diagnostic performance of both criteria was analyzed using the McNemar test. The evaluation was performed on 102 participants with 102 lesions (HCCs (n = 52), non-HCC malignancies (n = 36), and benign (n = 14)). Among 52 HCCs, non-rim APHE was observed in 92.3% (48 of 52). By 5 min, 73.1% (38 of 52) of HCCs showed mild washout, while by 10 min or in the Kupffer phase, 90.4% (47 of 52) of HCCs showed hypoenhancement. The sensitivity (67.3%; 35 of 52; 95% CI: 52.9%, 79.7%) of modified CEUS LI-RADS criteria was higher than that of CEUS LI-RADS criteria (51.9%; 27 of 52; 95% CI: 37.6%, 66.0%) (p = 0.0047). In conclusion, non-rim APHE with hypoenhancement in the Kupffer phase on Sonazoid-enhanced US is a feasible criterion for diagnosing HCC.

Intraductal radiofrequency ablation therapy for eradication of intraductal residual lesions after endoscopic papillectomy for ampullary adenoma.

Yamamoto et al. report a case of intraductal residual lesions after endoscopic papillectomy successfully treated with endoscopic radiofrequency ablation therapy. This report provides readers with images and videos of precise intraductal radiofrequency ablation therapy methods for safe and effective eradication of intraductal residual lesions.

Two Cases of Hemorrhagic Ampullary Lesions Successfully Treated by Endoscopic Papillectomy.

We herein report two cases of hemorrhagic ampullary lesions in which endoscopic papillotomy was performed to control bleeding and resulted in successful treatment. Both patients were pathologically diagnosed with an underlying pathology characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration and capillary proliferation. They also had disposing factors for bleeding, such as antithrombotic therapy and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Endoscopic treatment was selected because the risk of surgical resection was high due to the patients' hemorrhagic condition. Both patients were successfully treated without any serious adverse events and had an uneventful postoperative course with no relapse of bleeding.