Can contrast enhanced ultrasound differentiate intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma from hepatocellular carcinoma?

Table 1 Demographic and clinicopathological information of 228 enrolled patients, n (%)

Patient characteristic	Pathology		P value
	ICC (n = 99)	LR-M HCC (n =129)
Age, mean ± SD, (range), yr	59 ± 10.2 (57-61)	52 ± 12.8 (50-54)	= 0.017
Sex
Male	51 (51.5)	107 (82.9)	< 0.001
Female	48 (48.5)	22 (17.1)	-
Nodule size, mean ± SD, (range), cm	6.3 ± 2.8 (5.7-6.8)	5.5 ± 3.5 (4.9-6.1)	0.03
Intrahepatic bile duct dilatation	17 (17.2)	3 (2.3)	0.001
CA 19-9 (U/mL)	74.0 (41.9-136.5)	18.8 (16.0-22.0)	< 0.001
AFP (ng/mL)	3.0 (2.7-3.5)	67.3 (18.0-146.7)	< 0.001
Etiology
HBV	20 (20.2)	114 (88.4)	< 0.001
HCV	1 (1)	2 (1.5)	> 0.05
Intrahepatic cholelithiasis	4 (4)	0 (0)	> 0.05
Fatty liver	0	5 (3.9)	> 0.05
Unknown	74 (74.7)	2 (1.5)	< 0.001
Fibrosis stage
S1	3 (3)	4 (3.1)	> 0.05
S2	7 (7.1)	16 (12.4)	> 0.05
S3	4 (4)	20 (15.5)	0.009
S4	2 (2)	60 (46.5)	< 0.001
Unclassified	83 (83.8)	29 (22.5)	-
Tumor tissue differentiation
Well differentiated	1 (1)	2 (1.5)	-
Moderately differentiated	21 (21.2)	59 (45.7)	-
Poorly differentiated	77 (77.8)	68 (52.7)	-

ICC: Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; HCC: Hepatocellular carcinoma; AFP: Alpha fetoprotein; CA 19-9: Carbohydrate antigen 19-9; HBV: Hepatitis B virus; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; SD: standard deviation.