Ultrasound and Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound Findings after Percutaneous Irreversible Electroporation of Hepatic Malignant Tumors

Weilu Chai; Liting Xie; Qiyu Zhao; Chao Cheng; Guo Tian; Tian'an Jiang; Pingping Wu

doi:10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2019.12.012

Ultrasound and Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound Findings after Percutaneous Irreversible Electroporation of Hepatic Malignant Tumors

Ultrasound Med Biol. 2020 Mar;46(3):620-629. doi: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2019.12.012. Epub 2020 Jan 8.

Authors

Weilu Chai¹, Liting Xie², Qiyu Zhao¹, Chao Cheng³, Guo Tian⁴, Tian'an Jiang⁵, Pingping Wu⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ultrasonography, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, P.R. China; Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, P.R. China.
² Department of Ultrasonography, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, P.R. China.
³ Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, P.R. China.
⁴ Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, P.R. China.
⁵ Department of Ultrasonography, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, P.R. China; Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, P.R. China. Electronic address: tiananjiang@zju.edu.cn.
⁶ Liver Transplant Center, The First Affiliated Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, P.R. China.

PMID: 31924420
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultrasmedbio.2019.12.012

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe ultrasound (US) and contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) findings immediately and 1 d after percutaneous irreversible electroporation (IRE) of hepatic malignant tumors. Immediately after IRE, the ablation zone was shown to be a gradually expanding hypo-echoic area around the electrodes. The microcirculation of the ablation zone was markedly reduced on CEUS (before vs. immediately after, p < 0.001), and the macrocirculation within the ablation zone was preserved. At 1 d after IRE, the ablation zones lost their hypo-echogenicity to become iso-echoic or hyper-echoic (before vs. 1 d after, p = 0.004; immediately after vs. 1 d after, p = 0.002). At this time, further elimination of microcirculation was confirmed on CEUS (before vs. 1 d after, p < 0.001; immediately after vs. 1 d after, p = 0.003). The size of the ablation zone, which measured by US, was strongly correlated with that measured by CEUS (length: r: = 0.929, width: r = 0.940, p < 0.001), was significantly enlarged immediately after IRE and shrunk 1 d after IRE.

Keywords: Electroporation; Liver cancer; Malignancy; Radiographic image enhancement; Ultrasound.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Ablation Techniques / methods*
Aged
Contrast Media*
Electroporation*
Female
Humans
Liver Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging*
Liver Neoplasms / surgery*
Male
Middle Aged
Prospective Studies
Surgery, Computer-Assisted
Treatment Outcome
Ultrasonography / methods

Substances

Contrast Media