We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. To learn more, click here. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies. Cookie Policy.

Features Partner Sites Information LinkXpress
Sign In
Advertise with Us

Download Mobile App




Events

ATTENTION: Due to the COVID-19 PANDEMIC, many events are being rescheduled for a later date, converted into virtual venues, or altogether cancelled. Please check with the event organizer or website prior to planning for any forthcoming event.

Enhanced Ultrasound Superior to MRI for Diagnosing Certain Liver and Kidney Tumors

By MedImaging International staff writers
Posted on 27 Feb 2023
Print article
Image: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound vs. conventional ultrasound image (Photo courtesy of ICUS)
Image: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound vs. conventional ultrasound image (Photo courtesy of ICUS)

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) is a non-invasive imaging tool that is routinely used across the world to identify and characterize cancers, diagnose heart and vascular disease, monitor chronic gastro-intestinal diseases and therapy. Ultrasound contrast agents are administered intravenously to enhance the images produced by ultrasound scans, enabling the visualization of abnormal microvascular blood flow patterns in real time. Now, two new studies have revealed that CEUS is more accurate and reliable than MRI for examining certain liver and kidney nodules.

The two new studies were highlighted by the International Contrast Ultrasound Society (ICUS, Chicago, IL, USA; www.icus-society.org), a non-profit medical society dedicated to advancing the medically appropriate use of CEUS to improve patient care and outcomes. In the liver CEUS study, which followed 196 patients for two years, the researchers found that CEUS scans are at least equivalent if not superior to MRI for evaluating these liver lesions, and CEUS should be the first investigation for nodules found on surveillance for liver cancer. The study showed that CEUS offers superior sensitivity when compared to MRI (81% vs. 64%) for the diagnosis of malignancy, without compromising specificity (92% vs. 93%). In addition, CEUS was more likely than MRI to reproduce and characterize the nodule found on screening (97% vs. 78.5%). The liver study represents the first prospective comparison of CEUS and contrast-enhanced MRI for assessment of newly-discovered liver nodules. Based on these findings, the researchers have called upon the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) to include CEUS in its liver imaging guidelines, along with MRI and CT. However, MRI still remains an essential tool for managing patients with malignant tumors, particularly for staging these tumors prior to treatment, according to the researchers.

“We found that CEUS is a better and less expensive first-step evaluation for newly-discovered liver nodules,” said Dr. Stephanie Wilson, principal investigator of the liver CEUS study. “CEUS found malignant or pre-malignant diagnoses that would likely have been missed or delayed if we had not used CEUS in these patients. In addition, CEUS quickly and reliably identified benign lesions and pseudo-lesions, sparing these patients the costs and risks associated with unnecessary downstream testing and procedures.”

Meanwhile, the kidney CEUS study reviewed clinical data over a 10 year period to assess the accuracy of CEUS diagnoses of benign kidney nodules in 341 patients. Their blinded analysis found that none of the CEUS diagnoses changed during that period.

“Our data confirm that when CEUS determines a kidney mass is benign, the mass is benign and no further follow up is needed - sparing the patient from unnecessary downstream tests, anxiety and costs,” according to Dr. Richard G. Barr, the lead author of the kidney CEUS study. “It is important to remember that ultrasound contrast agents do not contain iodinated dye and do not harm the kidneys, making CEUS the examination of choice for patients with renal insufficiency.”

“In addition, CEUS allows for improved visualization of enhancement patterns in real time, the thin slice thickness of CEUS allows for evaluation of small nodules, multiplanar imaging allows for improved visualization and confirmation of enhancement, and multiple doses may be used during the same examination to provide an opportunity to image the lesion thoroughly,” Dr. Barr added. “Further, due to radiation exposure associated with CT, we believe CT should not be used as the first line imaging modality for assessing cystic lesions that are most probably benign in character.”

Related Links:
ICUS 

Gold Supplier
SBRT Phantom with Removable Spine
E2E SBRT Phantom with Removable Spine Model 036S-CVXX-xx
New
Radiography System
Riviera SPV
New
Handheld POC Ultrasound
P09
New
Elevating X-Ray Table
PROGNOST F

Print article

Channels

MRI

view channel
Image: New scan measures tumor oxygen levels in real-time to help guide treatment (Photo courtesy of ICR)

Oxygen-Enhanced MRI Technology Allows Cancer Doctors to See Inside Tumors

Since the 1950s, researchers have been aware of the difficulty in effectively treating tumors deprived of oxygen, a problem that is further exacerbated when treating them with radiotherapy.... Read more

Nuclear Medicine

view channel
Image: Tracking radiation treatment in real time promises safer, more effective cancer therapy (Photo courtesy of Pexels)

Real-Time 3D Imaging Provides First-of-Its-Kind View of X-Rays Hitting Inside Body During Radiation Therapy

Radiation is used in treatment for hundreds of thousands of cancer patients each year, bombarding an area of the body with high energy waves and particles, usually X-rays. The radiation can kill cancer... Read more

General/Advanced Imaging

view channel
Image: Viz.ai is the first to receive FDA 510(k) clearance for an AI algorithm for abdominal aortic aneurysm (Photo courtesy of Pexels)

AI Algorithm Flags and Triages Suspected Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms from Chest CT Scans

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) denotes a bulge in the abdominal aorta, the chief artery that transfers blood from the heart to other parts of the body. If not detected and treated in time, AAA can... Read more

Imaging IT

view channel
Image: The new Medical Imaging Suite makes healthcare imaging data more accessible, interoperable and useful (Photo courtesy of Google Cloud)

New Google Cloud Medical Imaging Suite Makes Imaging Healthcare Data More Accessible

Medical imaging is a critical tool used to diagnose patients, and there are billions of medical images scanned globally each year. Imaging data accounts for about 90% of all healthcare data1 and, until... Read more
Copyright © 2000-2023 Globetech Media. All rights reserved.