[Clinical evaluation of power Doppler sonography for the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma].

We compared power Doppler sonography (PDS) with conventional color Doppler sonography (CDS) in the visualization of intratumoral blood flow of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and evaluated the usefulness of PDS for assessing of the effects of TAE with Lipiodol and anticancer agents (Lp-TAE) and for the diagnosis of recurrence of HCC after Lp-TAE. The ability of PDS and CDS to visualize intratumoral blood flow was compared in 36 patients with HCC, and the usefulness of PDS for the diagnosis of HCC was evaluated. Also, in 17 patients with HCC who underwent Lp-TAE, the usefulness of PDS for evaluating the therapeutic effects of Lp-TAE and the diagnosis of recurrence after Lp-TAE was examined. The ability of PDS to visualize intratumoral blood flow and delineate tortuous and meandering intratumoral vasculature was superior to that of CDS. The effects of Lp-TAE could be evaluated and recurrence detected accurately and easily by PDS on the basis of residual intratumoral blood flow and the appearance of new blood flow. PDS is expected to achieve widespread acceptance as a useful imaging modality for the diagnosis of HCC, assessment of therapeutic effects of TAE, and detection of recurrence of HCC after TAE.