by Christos Evangelou, MSc, PhD – Medical Writer and Editor
In a new study, researchers found that contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) may help solve a longstanding challenge faced by clinicians — the characterization of indeterminate liver lesions in patients at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The international, multicenter trial CEUS LI-RADS demonstrated that, when employed as a complementary modality to CT and MRI, CEUS can substantially alter management recommendations, accurately identifying both malignant and benign lesions.1
According to the authors, CEUS should be considered as the next step for characterizing indeterminate liver observations on CT/MRI in patients at risk for HCC, as it can accelerate the diagnostic process and potentially alleviate the need for invasive biopsies or follow-up imaging in a substantial number of patients with indeterminate liver lesions.
The report was published in Abdominal Radiology.
Indeterminate Liver Lesions Are a Clinical Challenge
HCC, a liver cancer with a poor prognosis, poses a unique challenge in diagnosis and treatment planning. Unlike most solid tumors, HCC can often be diagnosed and managed without the need for invasive biopsies, relying instead on noninvasive dynamic contrast imaging.1 However, a substantial proportion of liver lesions detected on CT or MRI scans remain indeterminate, falling into categories such as LR-3 (intermediate probability of malignancy) or LR-NC (non-characterizable) according […]
