Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
1760452 | Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology | 2015 | 10 Pages |
Abstract
Our aim was to evaluate the correlation between tumor vasculature detected by pre-surgical contrast-enhanced ultrasonography and the post-surgical prognosis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. One hundred ninety-five patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who had undergone curative resection and pre-operative contrast-enhanced ultrasonography were enrolled. Intra-tumoral microvessels were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining for anti-CD31 and anti-CD34. On the basis of the immunohistochemical staining and morphology patterns, tumors were divided into capillary-like and sinusoid-like microvessel subtypes. The rise time of tumors was shorter in the capillary-like microvessel subtype than in the sinusoid-like microvasculature subtype (p = 0.026). Intra-tumor microvascular density (p < 0.001, hazard ratio = 0.137) and rise time (p = 0.006, hazard ratio = 2.475) were independent factors corresponding to different microvasculature types. Microvascular density, vascular invasion and wash-in perfusion index were determined to be independent factors in recurrence-free survival and overall survival. In conclusion, contrast-enhanced ultrasonography may serve as a means of non-invasive assessment of tumor angiogenesis and may be associated with the survival of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma after resection.
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Authors
Ru-Hai Zou, Qing-Guang Lin, Wei Huang, Xiao-Ling Li, Yun Cao, Jing Zhang, Jian-Hua Zhou, An-Hua Li, Laura Beretta, Chao-Nan Qian,