Angiography of small hepatocellular carcinomas: analysis of 105 resected tumors.

One hundred five hepatocellular carcinomas less than 5 cm in diameter were resected in 75 patients. The tumors were studied with respect to their detection rate by angiography and their angiographic features. Angiography identified 86 (82%) of the 105 lesions, missing 19 (18%). The findings included tumor vessels (70%) and tumor staining (76%). Pathologic analysis of the 19 undetected lesions showed that 74% of them were smaller than 2 cm in diameter and that they were well-differentiated carcinomas. Forty percent of 100 lesions were in the anterosuperior subsegment of the right lobe.