Role of computed tomography in screening for hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis.

One hundred patients with cirrhosis underwent abdominal computed tomography (CT) using a delayed contrast technique to determine liver and spleen volume. These scans were reviewed to screen this "at risk" population for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Fifteen of the 100 screened patients had focal abnormalities suspicious for HCC. On biopsy, only 1 patient was shown to have HCC. The other 14 patients had either fatty infiltration or focal regeneration. In the same time interval, a total of 10 patients had histologically proven HCC. All presented with symptoms and died within 4 months of diagnosis. The results show that focal hepatic lesions can be detected by CT but in this population the lesions may not be due to HCC. The incidence of HCC was approximately 1%, probably reflecting a truly low incidence in this population.