COLOR DOPPLER FLOW IMAGING OF HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMAS - COMPARISON WITH METASTATIC TUMORS AND HEMANGIOMAS BY 3-STEP GRADING FOR COLOR HUES

The role of color Doppler imaging was evaluated in differentiating hep atocellular carcinomas (HCCs) from metastases and hemangiomas by the a mount of tumoral color signals. Intratumoral and peritumoral color sig nals were analyzed by a three-step grading system (grade 1 to 3) in 51 patients (32 HCCs, seven metastases, and 12 hemangiomas). Correlation of grading scores for intratumoral and peritumoral color signals was evaluated with the size of the tumors as well. HCCs demonstrated a hig her grade of intratumoral color signals than did metastases or hemangi omas in all (p < 0.05) and biopsy-proved lesions (p = 0.0084); there w as no significant difference in the degree of peritumoral color signal s in all (p > 0.05) or 17 biopsy-proved HCCs (p = 0.2078) from the oth er tumor groups. In addition, the grade of both intratumoral and perit umoral color signals was not related with the tumor size in all groups (p > 0.05). In conclusion, color Doppler imaging provided a valuable role in the diagnosis of HCCs based on the qualitative analysis of the intratumoral color signals.