Advances of Ultrasonography in the Differential Diagnosis of Focal Hepatic Tumors

Hepatic tumor detection is an important issue in ultrasound (US) examination, especially in the screening of malignancy in countries with prevalent chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis. US, which developed from grayscale scanning into color-coded blood flow signaling, not only detects the existence of hepatic tumors, but color and power Doppler ultrasonography also provide information on vascular structures and patterns, which help in the differential diagnosis of hepatic tumors. In addition, the development of contrast media has led to effective visualization of tumor vasculature. According to the vascularity and vascular pattern of tumors, the differential diagnosis of hepatic tumors has become increasingly promising and feasible with the use of contrast-enhanced US. Three-dimensional ultrasonography comprehensively demonstrates tumor structure and its related vasculature and provides information for differential diagnosis. These advances in ultrasonography and US have led to comparable detection and differential diagnostic rates to that of other imaging modalities, such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging.