ArticleSingapore medical journal2021
Perfluorobutane contrast-enhanced ultrasonography: a new standard for ultrasonography-guided thermal ablation of sonographically occult liver tumours?
Article in Singapore medical journal, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- The value of contrast-enhanced ultrasound fusion imaging in percutaneous liver biopsy for liver lesions invisible on conventional B-mode ultrasound.Quantitative imaging in medicine and surgery · 2025Article
- The Role of Percutaneous Ablation in the Management of Colorectal Cancer Liver Metastatic Disease.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionImage-guided thermal ablation, preferably with ultrasonography (US), is increasingly used for treatment of small liver tumours. Perfluorobutane-contrast-enhanced US (pCEUS) is a promising tool that may allow for targeting of tumours that are otherwise imperceptible on greyscale US. Although pCEUS has been reported to be effective, the literature has been limited outside of Japan and South Korea. We aimed to provide data that supports the use of pCEUS in the thermal ablation of sonographically occult liver tumours.
methodsWe conducted a retrospective single-centre study of 35 consecutive patients who underwent pCEUS-guided ablation of 48 liver tumours with a median size of 1.2 cm. Periprocedural, one-month post-treatment and relevant follow-up imaging studies were reviewed. Electronic records were also obtained, with long-term follow-up data of 12-28 months being available for 32 patients.
results36 (75%) tumours that were imperceptible on greyscale US became visible with pCEUS. Overall, complete tumour ablation at one month was 89%. 1 (3%) patient developed a major complication following treatment, while 6 (17%) had minor post-treatment complaints. The local tumour progression rate was 17%, with a median time of 14 months.
conclusionpCEUS has a role in US-guided thermal ablation of liver tumours, offering a high technical success rate that is comparable to reported data. Additional benefits may include improved procedural time and freedom from ionising radiation.
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