Clinical Articles
Copyright ©The Author(s) 1996. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Sep 15, 1996; 2(3): 167-170
Published online Sep 15, 1996. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v2.i3.167
Magnetic resonance imaging of portal vein invasion in hepatocellular carcinoma: Results from 25 cases
Xi-Xu Zhu, Jun-Kun Chen, Guang-Ming Lu
Xi-Xu Zhu, Jun-Kun Chen, Guang-Ming Lu, Department of Radiology, General Hospital of Chinese PLA, Nanjing Commanding Area; 305 Zhongshan Donglu, 210002, Jiangsu Province, China
Xi-Xu Zhu, Attending Physician, Master of Medicine, having published 4 papers.
Author contributions: All authors contributed equally to the work.
Correspondence to: Dr. Xi-Xu Zhu, Department of Radiology, General Hospital of Chinese PLA, Nanjing Commanding Area; 305 Zhongshan Donglu, 210002, Jiangsu Province, China
Received: April 19, 1996
Revised: May 12, 1996
Accepted: June 21, 1996
Published online: September 15, 1996
Abstract

AIM: To pre-operatively assess tumor thromboses associated with hepatocellular carcinoma in the portal vein.

METHODS: Twenty-five patients diagnosed with a thrombus due to hepatocellular carcinoma were included in the study. MR imaging was performed with a 1.0T superconducting magnetic imaging system. Both T1 and T2 weighed images as well as FLASH sequences were obtained in the transverse plane, and additional FLASH images were obtained in the coronal plane.

RESULTS: Thromboses located in the portal vein had signal intensities similar to those of the main tumor. An intrinsic portal vein thrombus was found in 16 patients, and six thromboses were occlusive. Thromboses were found in the diffuse narrow portal branches of 3 patients. The portal venous thromboses displayed an area of signal intensity that replaced the normal flow void of the portal vein. The affected portal veins displayed a stumpy appearance, had irregular areas of stenosis, and showed formation of a vascular net.

CONCLUSION: MRI was more sensitive, specific, and noninvasive for detecting a portal tumor thrombus, and can be used jointly with spin echo (SE) and gradient echo (GRE) imaging techniques.

Keywords: Magnetic resonance imaging, Liver neoplasms/diagnosis