Evaluation of the consistency between contrast-enhanced ultrasound and enhanced CT in determining the effect of radiofrequency ablation on hepatocellular carcinoma / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Objective:This study aims to evaluate the consistency between contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and enhanced computed tomography (CT) in determining the effect of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) on hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: RFA procedures guided by either ultrasound or CT were performed on 35 patients with 68 lesions. Enhanced CT and CEUS were regularly conducted after the procedures to evaluate the effect of RFA. The full ablation, residual, and recurrence rates of tumors, as well as the di-agnostic accuracies and kappa values of CEUS and enhanced CT, were determined. Results:The full ablation and residual rates of tumors for the 68 lesions diagnosed by CEUS were 84%and 16%, respectively;whereas those for the lesions diagnosed by enhanced CT were 90%and 10%, respectively. No significant difference was found between the obtained rates using the two diagnostic methods (χ2=0.576 3, P=0.447 8). Moreover, the two methods exhibited high consistency (K=0.882 9, Sk=0.120 4). Of the 68 lesions, 13 recurred within 24 months. The recurrence rate evaluated by CEUS was 19%(13/68). No significant difference was found between the detection rates of CEUS (92%, 12/13 lesions) and enhanced CT (100%, 13/13 lesions) in diagnosing recurrent lesions (P>0.05). Enhanced CT could be used as the gold standard for evaluating tumor residual and recurrence rates after RFA. The overall diagnostic accuracy of CEUS reached 92%(63/68 lesions). Conclusion:CEUS and enhanced CT exhibit high accuracy and consistency in evaluating the effect of RFA on hepatocellular carcinoma. CEUS can provide a reliable diagnostic proof for tumor patients after undergoing RFA procedure.