Poor sensitivity of sonography in detection of hepatocellular carcinoma in advanced liver cirrhosis: accuracy of pretransplantation sonography in 118 patients

The objective of this study was to assess the detectability of hepatocellular carcinoma by sonography in advanced cirrhotic patients undergoing liver transplantation. We retrospectively reviewed pretransplantation sonography in 118 consecutive patients with advanced liver cirrhosis. We assessed the detectability of hepatocellular carcinoma in relation to tumor size, location, total liver volume, and degree of sonographic heterogeneity of the liver parenchyma. On pathologic examination, 51 hepatocellular carcinomas were identified in 31 patients. Pretransplantation sonography depicted 14 of 51 (27%) hepatocellular carcinomas. Detectability was significantly affected according to tumor size (p=0.0099), but there was no significant difference according to tumor location, liver volume, or degree of sonographic heterogeneity of the liver parenchyma. Our study suggests that sonography is not sufficiently sensitive to detect hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis. Tumor size is the only factor influencing the detectability of hepatocellular carcinoma.