ULTRASONICALLY GUIDED FINE-NEEDLE ASPIRATION BIOPSY OF PORTAL-VEIN THROMBOSIS - A CYTOMORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF 14 PATIENTS

Portal vein tumor thrombosis is an important and consistent prognostic indicator in hepatocellular carcinoma. We reviewed 14 cases of ultras onically guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of the portal vei n. All the patients had clinical evidence of portal vein thrombosis (P VT). Twelve of these patients had a preliminary diagnosis of hepatocel lular carcinoma while the remaining two initially, had a clinical diag nosis of end-stage liver disease. The mean age of the patients was 60 years. An average of 1.7 posses per case was made. No clinical complic ations were encountered. The cytomorphologic features of the aspirated materials were reviewed. Twelve of the 14 cases (85.7%) were judged n eoplastic or thought to have probable neoplastic involvement of the po rtal vein while two were clearly benign. The cell block was found to b e the most useful in diagnosis. We conclude that FNAB of the portal ve in is a feasible method in evaluating PVT especially in patients alrea dy known to have hepatocellular carcinoma. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.