US-GUIDED LIVER-BIOPSY - PREDICTING THE EFFECT OF INTERVENTIONAL TREATMENT OF HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA

PURPOSE: To analyze the results of ultrasound (US)-guided biopsy as a predictor of the outcome of interventional treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC).MATERIALS AND METHODS: US-guided biopsy was performed in 125 lesions in 102 high-risk patients, before transcatheter arteria l embolization (TAE) (82 lesions) or before percutaneous ethanol injec tion (PEI) therapy (25 lesions, including 14 lesions previously treate d with TAE). Pathologic results were correlated with treatment effects . RESULTS: Results of biopsy confirmed 107 HCCs, which were classified as early (n = 17), frank (n = 67), sclerosing (n = 12), or poorly dif ferentiated or undifferentiated (n = 11). Hypervascularity was observe d in most frank HCCs, with a good response to TAE. Tumor vascularity i n early or sclerosing HCCs was slight and did not respond to TAE. Scle rosing and poorly differentiated or undifferentiated HCCs enlarged aft er treatment, whereas early HCCs did not. Early HCCs were treated succ essfully with PEI therapy; sclerosing HCCs responded poorly to PEI the rapy. CONCLUSION: Evaluation of histologic subtype of HCC by means of US-guided biopsy is essential, because subtype may affect treatment pl anning.